Buju loses retrial bid

(Jamaica Observer) KINGSTON, Jamaica — Imprisoned Reggae artiste Buju Banton, yesterday lost his bid for a retrial in a Tampa, Florida court. Federal Judge James Moody denied Buju Banton’s request on the basis that there is no need for a new trial because an Atlanta appeals court ruled that there was enough evidence to convict him on a gun charge.

Buju Banton…could
be sentenced to another five years.

Under the new ruling, Buju’s sentence could be extended by an additional five years. He was originally sentenced to ten years.

A federal jury found Buju guilty of three drug charges and a gun charge in June last year. During a sentencing hearing Moody threw out the gun charge citing that Buju had never met or spoke with James Mack, a co-conspirator who drove to Florida from Georgia with a gun his car to buy five kilos of cocaine from a confidential informant.

Mack and Ian Thomas, another co-conspirator, pled guilty to drug charges and were sentenced to five years.