Buju Banton Update: Trial set for April

courtesy of Jamaica Observer

The court date for deejay Buju Banton, who's in prison awaiting trial on drug and conspiracy charges, has been pushed back to April. It was anticipated that the trial would have started in March.

According to David Markus, the attorney representing embattled Reggae singer, Buju Banton's case was re-scheduled to ensure that it continues without a break.

"It has been pushed back because there were so many conflicts. The prosecution's agent will be having a baby in March and April 12 is the only date convenient for all parties," Markus told Chat!.

Banton was arrested at his Tamarac home in South Florida after Federal Agents accused him of negotiating with undercover agents to purchase five or more kilograms of cocaine at Sarasota in Tampa, Florida.

The agents claim to have footage showing the artiste tasting cocaine in a Federally controlled warehouse.

Markus could not confirm reports that prosecutors will be trying to bolster their case against the artiste by flying in witnesses from Jamaica to testify against him.

"The prosecution is not obligated to show a witness list and they have not shown us one," Markus said.

The postponement of the start of the trial means Banton will have to spend another month in jail, as he opted to waive his right to a bail hearing. If Banton made bail he would immediately be re-arrested by US immigration authorities who have revoked a travel waiver he used during his extensive US tour last year to promote his album, Rasta Got Soul, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Markus intends to prove to that the US Government entrapped his client into purchasing cocaine and had used a paid informant to inveigle him for almost a year. Markus also intends to get the prosecutors to reveal the name of the paid informant and how much he was paid to trap the artiste.

Tags: Banton, Buju, Caribbean, Dancehall, Justice, Reggae

Comment

You need to be a member of Carib Life Central to add comments!

Join Carib Life Central

Comment by theresa callender on February 19, 2010 at 10:19am: Good Luck Buju, I hope you get thru this soon and start singing again, I love your music--you will be okay just pray--God is good

Comment by Penny Agard on February 19, 2010 at 9:11am: Good luck to Buju Banton, he'll win in the end and continue to make good music. I'm from GT and I do enjoy his music

Comment by cedricnaptiwalters on February 19, 2010 at 8:30am: Wish him all the best. Please know that the British Government forced opium on the Chinese
in what would give rise to the boxer revolution. Coca-Cola used actual coke in their product at
one point. Funny how things work.
jah guide.
Napti

Comment by Bridgette Simone Farrington on February 19, 2010 at 5:28am: Be strong buju it will all work out in the end GOD is good all the time all the time GOD is good

Comment by Carol Vincent on February 18, 2010 at 8:19pm: What did he think he was tasting? Lesson to be learned, "don't place yourself in suspicious positions".

Comment by Michael McNeil on February 18, 2010 at 7:28pm: Judgement in the US justice system is up to a jury of your peers (12 people). Who are Buju's peers? Will he be able to get a fair trial? Something to think about.

Comment by Sharon Wellington on February 18, 2010 at 7:27pm: Of course it's big talk Jason, but you have to have faith. :-)

Comment by Jason Walker on February 18, 2010 at 7:05pm: Big Talk Sharon!

Comment by Sharon Wellington on February 18, 2010 at 6:27pm: We all have to keep in mind that behind the public image is a real person. And the trial may reveal things about Buju that we'd really rather not know. He's no different than the rest of us
in terms what we want to project publicly and how we really are privately. I think he will be okay in the end. iThe prosecution will do their best to make Buju look bad and he will look bad at times, but I think he'll prevail. The witnesses are the wild card. The worse thing about the prosecution witnesses is that they may be people he's close to.