Monster Kody sentenced

Ty Mon May 12, 2008 3:14 pm

LA gang member-turned-author 'Monster' sentenced to prison

The Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/06/2008 12:58:19 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES—Kody "Monster" Scott, who wrote a critically praised autobiography of his life as a South Los Angeles gang member while behind bars, was sentenced to six years in state prison for a 2006 carjacking.
Scott, 44, was sentenced Monday after pleading no contest to carjacking. Four other counts against him were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, Los Angeles County district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said Tuesday.
Scott was arrested last year in connection with a Dec. 12, 2006, attack on a friend, police and prosecutors said.
Scott was accused of taking his friend's 1998 silver Jaguar and beating the man so badly that he needed facial surgery, police and prosecutors said.
Scott denied wrongdoing but agreed to a plea bargain because he is a convicted felon and faced a possible sentence of 25 years to life under California's "three strikes" law, his attorney said Tuesday.
Attorney H. Russell Halpern denied that Scott's friend was seriously injured or needed surgery.
The man reported only that Scott had hit him and told him that "I'm going to take your car for a couple of days," Halpern asserted. He contended that the man sold Scott the car and reported it stolen to collect insurance.
Scott, who was known as "Monster Kody" and also goes by the name Sanyika Sakura, was in prison when he wrote "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member." In it, he claimed to have been inducted into a South Los
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Angeles street gang at age 11 and to have killed, robbed and committed other crimes. The 1993 book is the basis for a planned movie.
Scott previously served four years in state prison for armed robbery and possession of an AK-47 assault rifle, and had shorter terms for other crimes.
Police contend that he retains gang ties despite a professed conversion to Islam and a renunciation of violence. He was on a 10-most-wanted gang member list released by the Los Angeles Police Department last year.
Halpern said Scott was expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence.
Scott is "going to write a few more books and do his four years," Halpern said.

This was a political/publicity move from the start. He was lucky to get out of this with only 6 years, he was looking at life on a 3 strikes case but that would have earned more publicity than the DA would have wanted. Nobody want's to see a case like this where the alledged victim is paid for his co-operation by the city after the suspect has been named to the initial city list of most wanted or notorious gang members. Well I guess he'll have more people looking to buy his new book when it is released in August.