Wesley Snipes petitions court to leave country

OCALA, Fla. — Lawyers for Wesley Snipes are asking a Florida judge to let the 45-year-old actor leave the country while they appeal his three federal tax convictions.

Snipes wants to work on two films, "Gallowwalker" and "Chasing the Dragon," in London and in Bangkok, Thailand, according to documents filed Wednesday in federal court.

The documents say postproduction editing of "Gallowwalker" is set to begin July 14, and filming of "Chasing the Dragon" will start in September.

Snipes was sentenced in April to three years in prison on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file his income tax returns.

The government alleged that Snipes, star of the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump," "Jungle Fever" and other films, hasn't filed a tax return since 1998.

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