‘Baddies Caribbean’ star, Philly influencer ‘Meatball' pleads guilty for role in city-wide looting spree
PHILADELPHIA - Popular social media influencer and reality TV star Dayjia Blackwell, known to many as ‘Meatball’ has pleaded guilty to two charges for her role in a city-wide looting spree that occurred back in September.
Blackwell entered guilty pleas to the charges of riot with the intent to commit a felony and criminal use of a communication facility while in court Thursday.
Blackwell has been sentenced to five years of probation for each charge, 150 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.
The District Attorney wants Blackwell to complete the court-ordered community service through the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP).
Blackwell’s lawyer said she is accepting responsibility for her actions and will use her platform for positivity moving forward. If allowed, she would even showcase her service work to her followers.
During the court appearance, Blackwell was wearing a necklace and the judge asked her what her necklace said.
Blackwell replied that the necklace said "Baddie."
The judge amusingly responded and said he would hope she wouldn’t wear a necklace that says that in court next time. He said he hopes next time she’ll wear a necklace that says "Goodie".
Blackwell revealed that the necklace was in reference to the reality TV show ‘Baddies Caribbean’ in which she appears on during its current season five. Blackwell also said she was recently on a trip for the show.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 05: Meatball attends Baddies Caribbean Premiere at AMC Century City 15 on May 05, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Zeus Networks)
Back in April, she shared a post to Instagram showing off her Baddies necklace and captioned it "Wow @realmissnatalienunn I’m officially a baddie. You surprised me with this one I just wanna say I appreciate it ! I wasn’t leaving without this #Aintnuffin"
The show’s creator and Bad Girls Club star Natalie Nunn commented, "I love u lil sister good job I’m proud of you keep growing remember growth you live and learn."
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Police say that her livestreams during the looting helped investigators track her down along with other suspects.
The stream followed looters from a state liquor store to Lululemon to the Center City Apple Store. As the store is being ransacked, the stream showed stolen iPhones and iPads sounding an alarm with an anti-theft system.
Blackwell was one of dozens arrested and charged in the incident.