Matthews-Bey, of the 100 block of N. Monroe St., spoke for about two minutes during the DVD and said in court that he was simply reading what was written for him.
In one scene in Stop Snitching, Matthews-Bey is shown in a baggy white T-shirt, his hair in cornrows, threatening to hurt people who get in the way of the drug trade.
And in a later appearance, he and another drug dealer make fun of people who don't sell drugs, laughing at them because they work at Burger King and don't make enough money to entertain women or buy nice clothes.
Police said that Matthews-Bey's neighborhood serves as a backdrop for at least one scene in the DVD.
"I was reading a script and holding a camera and basically laughing through the whole DVD," Matthews-Bey said in court. "If I'm wrong for reading a script, then all of Hollywood is wrong."
Although its creators play down the video's importance, police say it uses threats of violence to intimidate people from helping police or testifying in court. A sequel was released in December 2007. Matthews-Bey was in jail by the time of the second video and had no involvement with it.
Matthews-Bey was arrested Nov. 15 after an anonymous tip from a city resident, who complained to police that a man in a white van was selling drugs on Frederick Avenue. Baltimore police officers responded to that location and saw Matthews-Bey involved in a drug transaction.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Gallagher said Matthews-Bey was reaching for a loaded gun when officers approached him.
Matthews-Bey had been convicted of dealing drugs in 1991 and 1999 but had never served more than three months in prison, his lawyer said in court.
In March 2005, Baltimore police said they found 198 bags of raw heroin in his bedroom after tracking him down from the video. He was charged with a variety of drug possession crimes but was acquitted by a jury on all counts in October of that year.
"Mr. Matthews is the epitome of a career offender," Gallagher said.
Matthews-Bey loudly told the court that he would appeal the sentence and that he was going to start filing the paperwork.
His father, who identified himself only as Brother Matthews-Bey, said afterward that the ruling was a farce.
"The involvement in the DVD should have never been brought up," the father said. "It wasn't meant for witness intimidation. It was a street-level DVD."
brent.jones@baltsun.com
