Max B Out On Bail

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

The Byrd Gang's Max B, who real name is Charles Wingate, is a free man for now after serving eight months behind bars while awaiting trial on murder charges. The rapper was freed on Tuesday (July 10th) and was greeted by the Diplomats' Jim Jones and Freekey Zeekey. The rapper is currently in the recording studio working on his debut album.

Max B's conspiracy murder charges stem from an incident last year involving his girlfriend and an associate. According to the authorities, Max B, his girlfriend and stripper Gina Marie Conway, and second man Kelvin Leerdam conspired to rob David Taylor and Allan "Jay" Plowden after Conway told them that the men had flashed large wads of cash and drove expensive cars.

Taylor and Plowden were staying in two separate rooms at the Holiday Inn in Fort Lee when Conway knocked on Plowden's door at 4 a.m. Leerdam, who was waiting out of sight, pushed his way into the room and ordered him to call Taylor, who was shot and killed as he entered the room. After tying up Plowden, they allegedly left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

According to Max B's lawyer, the evidence against him is mostly hearsay and the rapper was not in New Jersey at the time of the shooting. But authorities tell a different story, and they claim that cell phone calls between the parties before and after the crime link Max B to the murder.

The rapper's bail was initially set at $2 million.