Grammy-winning reggae superstar Buju Banton is scheduled to learn the length of his prison term today.
At the same time, the United States (US) Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida is remaining tight-lipped on whether it will go after Buju’s assets.
“The United States Attorney’s Office has not initiated forfeiture proceedings in the Mark Myrie case,” wrote Amy Filjones, a public affairs specialist in the office, in an emailed response to The Jamaica Gleaner.
“We cannot comment any further at this time,” Filjones added when asked if her office has decided against initiating those proceedings.
US District judge James Moody is expected to impose the sentence when Buju, whose real name is Mark Myrie, appears in a Tampa Federal courtroom.
Moody is also expected to issue a ruling on a motion filed by Buju’s legal team, seeking an acquittal and a new trial.
This comes four months after Buju was convicted in the US Middle District Court, Florida Division, of conspiring to set up a drug deal in a Florida warehouse.
The reggae icon, who has been in custody since his arrest in December 2009, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
Plea for leniency
However, Buju, through his attorney, David Oscar Markus, has asked the court for a shorter sentence.
Markus argued in court documents that a 15-year sentence is “way more than necessary” in Buju’s case.
He contended that Buju’s limited participation in the drug buy, his charitable work in Jamaica, and his otherwise clean record, entitled the singer to a reduced sentence.
American actor Danny Glover is among a number of celebrities who have pleaded for leniency for Buju.
