Hip-hop artist 'Big Cheeze' is freed on bond

Hip-hop artist 'Big Cheeze' is freed on bond
BY KIMBALL PERRY
The Enquirer
May 24, 2007

Big Cheeze is getting out of the slammer.

Jordan Mouton, who told a judge Wednesday he was an up-and-coming hip-hop artist, was jailed this month on allegations he was involved in shipping marijuana from California to Cincinnati.

Mouton, charged with trafficking in and possession of drugs, initially was ordered held on $100,000 bond.

Mouton's new attorney, Leslie Isaiah Gaines, said Wednesday his client deserved a lower bond because he has no criminal record and his career would be hurt because he could not tour if locked up.

Mouton - called "Big Cheeze" because he is 6-feet-8 and weighs 320 pounds - pulled out a promotional poster of himself as a hip-hop artist and told Municipal Judge Ted Berry that his surefire-hit CD is due out in two months.

Mouton said he has been a hip-hop artist since age 12 and has concerts scheduled in Texas and Missouri.

Assistant Prosecutor Betsy Sundermann asked the judge for a higher bond, noting that Mouton, who lives in El Sobrante, Calif., with his wife and three children, would leave the state.

"We strongly oppose (a lower bond). He will not be back," Sundermann told the judge.

Mouton was arrested by the Regional Narcotics Unit, made up of Cincinnati police and Hamilton County sheriff's deputies, after he was accused of being involved in mailing several pounds of marijuana to a relative in Cincinnati.

Gaines suggested that Mouton was given a high bond because he didn't cooperate with police after his arrest. "Many times," Gaines told the judge, "high bond in Hamilton County means he did not confess, did not rat on someone."

Berry agreed to let Mouton out on his signature, but said he would owe $100,000 if he did not show up for his court dates.

Berry ordered him to come back to court - or else.

"You hear me, Big Cheeze?" Berry asked.

A relieved Mouton flashed a peace sign as he left the courtroom.