– Judge orders actor Snipes to jail

In April 2008, Snipes, 48, was found guilty of deliberately failing to file tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001. He then launched an appeal and has been on bail ever since. MIAMI Any hopes Wesley Snipes had for a new trial were dashed yesterday when a Florida judge instead ordered the star of the “Blade” trilogy to start serving a three-year prison sentence for a felony tax conviction. The actor, whose films include the Blade trilogy, was cleared of more serious fraud and conspiracy charges. U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges in Florida rejected a request from the actor’s attorneys to review Snipes’ sentence and grant a new trial. ‘Calm and positive’ “The defendant Snipes had a fair trial; he has had a full, fair and thorough review of his conviction and sentence,” Judge Hodges wrote in his decision on Friday. The time has come for the judgment to be enforced,” ruled US District Judge Terrell Hodges. The actor later was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to pay taxes on $38 million of income from 1999 to 2004, a period in which he signed two contracts valued at more than $10 million on sequels in the ‘Blade’ trilogy. “The defendant Snipes had a fair trial; he has had a full, fair and thorough review of his conviction and sentence. … The time has come for the judgment to be enforced,” the judge wrote in his 16-page decision. The 48-year-old star of the “Blade” trilogy and Spike Lee ‘s “Jungle Fever” was convicted in 2008 on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file his income tax returns.

He was convicted in 2008 in Ocala, Fla., on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file income-tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001. The B.O.P. has listed Snipes as “in transit.” We contacted Lynzey Donahue, Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Marshals who told us, “A status of ‘in transit’ means that the inmate is being moved for any number of reasons.” Donahue continues, “While the prisoner is in this status, for security reasons, the U.S. Marshals Service does not disclose location.” More Wesley Snipes. He was acquitted of two more serious felony charges. In seeking a new trial, lawyer Daniel Meachum argued that the original jury was biased and that the star witness against Snipes had his own criminal problems. Snipes’ defense attorney, Daniel Meachum, said in an e-mail to the Associated Press that he planned to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court .

Meachum said later in an interview that he didn’t expect the Bureau of Prisons to take custody of the actor for another five to seven days. The time has come for the judgment to be enforced.” Snipe camp disappointed with ruling Meanwhile, Snipes’ lawyers are not pleased with the sentencing. He wasn’t bitter.” Snipes’ lawyers had argued his 2008 sentence was “unreasonable”. The actor earned more than $37m (£24m) in gross income between 1999 and 2004 but did not file individual federal income tax returns for any of those years, according to official court papers.