Charles "Dark Lo" Salley pleaded guilty to one count of witness intimidation on Monday. The rapper's charge stems from threats he made to the informant responsible for Ar-Ab's incarceration.
One of Dark Lo's songs, "Allegations," played a role in the prosecution's characterization of the Philadelphia rapper and associate of the North Philadelphia record label Original Block Hustlaz (OBH). On the track, he blames OBH's drug conspiracy case on "a rat" and warned whoever the informant was that they would be hunted down and shot.
The 39-year-old was specifically charged for writing two letters to Dontez "Taz" Stewart, who was charged in OBH's case but ended up pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against the others. Stewart was facing a murder charge for allegedly killing one of Ar-Ab's drug rivals.
Days before Stewart was set to testify, he received a letter from Dark Lo addressed from "Ron Harvey" -- an alias the rapper used in his music. In the letter, Stewart was referred to as "Stewart Little," a phrase prosecutors believed was a reference to a rat or snitch. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the letter included warnings that he might be "stabbed up" in prison and that the mother of his children might be raped if Stewart went through with his testimony.
Dark Lo admitted to writing the letter but claimed he wasn't threatening Stewart but innocently warning him of the possible consequences that come with snitching.
"I don’t see how that's threats," Dark Lo said, according to a transcript of his 2019 interview with government agents. "If I didn't know him, that's threats…But he was under me, so I felt as though I could say that to him."
Dark Lo, who's currently out on bail, faces up to nine years in prison under terms of the deal he struck with prosecutors. Ar-Ab, who was convicted in his federal conspiracy case, is still awaiting a sentencing hearing.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
