On-screen boast prompts tougher jail sentence

[Champ]

DURHAM - A man who prosecutors say boasted in a documentary film that he was a gang warlord was resentenced on a probation violation once a judge learned about the on-screen appearance.

The new film, "Welcome 2 Durham," depicts street life in which young people join gangs and battle over turf, money, drugs and what they perceive as honor.

Durham prosecutors said Justin Brooks Sharpe, 21, admitted in the film that he smoked marijuana and took pills during the day, then turned to gang activity at night.

Last week, Superior Court Judge Abraham Jones sentenced Sharpe to between six and eight months in prison for possessing cocaine and a stolen car. Jones also sentenced Sharpe to an additional 10 days for violating his probation on an earlier drug conviction.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/8684472.htm?1c