Federal prosecutor James Preston is reportedly seeking to lay two more charges against Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton when he is retried next month in Florida.
However, his legal team led by David Oscar Markus is fighting the new indictment on the grounds that it is not permissible for new charges to be brought on old information and the weapons charge was a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
The Jamaica Observer reported that Markus said that the chief danger raised by a multiplicitous indictment is the possibility that the defendant will receive more than one sentence for a single offence.
Markus is contending that an indictment is multiplicitous if it charges a single offence in more than one count.
The artiste was tried last September on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offence. However, the 12-member panel of jurors was unable to reach a verdict following three days of deliberations. The trial lasted a week in Tampa, Florida.
But should the new indictment stand, Banton will be tried for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offence, and using the wires to facilitate a drug trafficking offence.
Both sides are now awaiting a ruling from the court on the matter.
If convicted, Banton faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The United States government would also seek to seize the artiste’s assets. A date for the retrial will be set soon.
