TOMMY LEE ON GUN RAP
EMBATTLED dancehall deejay Tommy Lee Sparta is scheduled to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew
Parish Court in Half-way-tree on January 6, after being charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, yesterday evening.
According to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the entertainer — who has been detained since Monday — remains in police custody.
One of the deejay’s attorneys, Donahue Martin, said he learned of the development via the JCF’S social media page.
“It’s a matter for court. When a matter goes to court, we’ll have the privilege of getting disclosure and when we get disclosure, we’ll have a position one way or the other in relation to the matter. So, it would not be prudent to make any comment on the general allegations right now because I haven’t had the benefit of formal disclosure as yet,” Martin told the Jamaica Observer.
In addition to Martin, Tommy Lee Sparta is being represented by highprofile attorney-at-law Tom Tavaresfinson, QC.
Around midday yesterday,
Martin made a verbal habeas corpus application on behalf of his client. The court ordered lawmen to charge or release the deejay by 8:00 am on Thursday. He was detained on reasonable suspicion for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
A habeas corpus is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.
According to the police, the entertainer —whose given name is Leroy Russell — was arrested on Monday after a vehicle in which he was travelling was intercepted by members of the JCF’S Specialized Operations. The men in the vehicle were searched and a 9mm Glock pistol with an extended magazine containing 18 rounds of ammunition was found in the dancehall artiste’s waistband.
He is the subject of other criminal investigations.
In July, he was detained by police in Montego Bay in relation to a upsurge in violence in the Flanker community of St James. He was subsequently released.
In 2014, he was arrested and charged for lottery scamming-related offences after police raided a house in the Kingston 5 area believed to be occupied by the entertainer. A laptop belonging to the deejay was also seized after it was reportedly found with personal information of several United States residents. He was, however, freed four years later.
That same year, he was denied entry to Dominica after arriving in that Caribbean island to perform at a concert. The Dominica Association of Evangelical Churches said the artiste’s appearance and music glorify Satan and promote lawlessness and violence. He was deported the following day.
In 2015, the Montego Bay police prevented him from performing on Reggae Sumfest for “fear of patrons’ safety”.
The following year he was listed as a person of interest by detectives in the Kingston Eastern Division. At that time, it was in relation to a shooting incident on Saunders Avenue in the Kingston 2 section of the Corporate Area.
In 2017, the Freeport Police
Station in Montego Bay requested he turn himself in for questioning in relation to a shooting in the Flanker community during the Christmas holiday. He was cleared in both instances.
In March, the deejay’s six-yearold daughter was shot during an altercation involving three men in Flanker. A nine-year-old boy was fatally shot in that incident.
A former member of Vybz Kartel’s Portmore “Gaza” Empire, Tommy Lee Sparta got his musical break in 2012. He is known for songs including Spartan Soldier, Spartan Angel, Psycho, and Rich Badness.