BREAKING -- Buju Sentenced to 10 Years.

Judge Moody threw out the gun charge but otherwise sentenced Buju to 10 years in prison:

Dozens of letters to U.S. District Judge James S. Moody are included in the court file for the 37-year-old recording artist, whose given name is Mark Myrie. Several of his 15 children wrote, as did a former Jamaican government official, an NBA player, other reggae artists and actor Danny Glover, who called Banton a "role model, philanthropist and spiritual leader in the community."

"Your honor, Mark Myrie is not a drug dealer," Glover wrote. "Society would not benefit from his incarceration."

Banton's attorney, David Markus, says federal sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of at least 15 years. In a court filing, Markus told Moody that is "way more than necessary" in Banton's case.

The judge did throw out a gun charge, lowering Banton's sentence from 15 years to 10. He was also ordered to serve five years of probation following his release from prison.

Markus contended that Banton deserved a lower sentence because of his limited participation in the drug buy, his charitable work in Jamaica and his otherwise clean record.

Banton's oldest son, also named Mark Myrie, wrote that his father "puts hard work, sweat and tears into his music and that is what (he) 'puts on the table,' it has never been drugs....The situation is just an example of our mere imperfections as people, being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

What's the next step, defense lawyers?

(Besides prayer.)

Buju Banton Motion for Acquittal/New Trial.

You can read David's handiwork here (Scribd was acting buggy).

Here's the well-written intro from the motion:

In this drug and gun case, the core allegation against Mr. Myrie was that he brokered a deal between Ian Thomas and Alexander Johnson (the confidential informant).1 The government sought to prove its case by presenting: (1) the testimony of Alexander Johnson; (2) tapes and transcripts of calls and meetings; and (3) the testimony of its case agent, a research specialist dealing with the phone calls, and the police officer who seized the gun from James Mack’s car on December 10, 2009. The defense in the case was that Mr. Myrie did not know he was going to a warehouse on December 8 (conceded by the government); did not know that he was going to see cocaine (conceded by the government); and, once in the warehouse, presented with cocaine, did not then or at any later time, reach an agreement to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Further, Mr. Myrie did not willfully participate in or have knowledge of the drug transaction on December 10. Therefore, the gun that James Mack possessed on December 10 was not reasonably foreseeable to Mr. Myrie, especially given the fact that he had never met or even heard of James Mack before. Assuming, arguendo, that an agreement was reached, the defense argued in the alternative that the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Myrie was not entrapped.

 What do you think -- any chance of success?

Buju Banton -- Guilty Verdict!

BREAKING -- Buju Banton found guilty.

Buju Banton Goes to Court (Again).

Once again Buju has "him blacker" attorney David O. Markus at his side, as well as a Grammy that Banton won last night for Best Reggae Album.

I recognize that prosecutors can do this, but a better question is why --

The five-time Grammy nominated artiste, whose real name is Mark Myrie, had originally been tried 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.

He will now be tried for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine; attempted possession with the intent to distribute cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drugtrafficking offence; and using the wires to facilitate a drug trafficking offence.

If convicted, Buju faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The new indictment was secured last November by Prosecutor James Preston in an effort to secure a conviction against the Jamaican artiste, whose legal team is claiming that he had been entrapped by the US Government.

Also, what may weigh on the artiste’s mind when he steps inside the number 13 courtroom on the towering building may be the federal government’s impressive conviction rate of above 90 per cent — and its penchant for winning retrials by multiplying charges.

One would hope this type of power is reserved for serious crimes where there is a good faith belief something truly went wrong the first time.

In the civil setting this type of thing is unusual to say the least.

And what a way to spend Valentine's Day!

"Him Blacker Than Me and You."

Who could that be referring to, you might wonder?

Who else -- my pal and highly skilled defense attorney David O. Markus.

Check David out on stage at Bayfront Park Sunday as he appears to be jamming with client Buju Banton:

The Jamaica Observer, doing exemplary work on the Buju trial/retrial as per usual, has the details:

Banton's knock out punch was when he called his attorney David Oscar Markus on stage and thanked him for his efforts in defending him against his accusers.

"Don't watch nothing say him white. Him blacker than me and you," Banton said before hugging his lawyer and exiting the stage after his non-stop 120-minute performance.

Two quick observations:

First, I really like David's smart yet sensible attire -- flexible enough to wear to Costco or appear on stage in front of ten thousand people.

Not a lot of lawyers could pull that off.

Second, this whole "him blacker" business raises an interesting question, given that David did in fact go to Harvard Law School....

Hmm -- why do parts of this storyline sound vaguely familiar?

Bob Marley's Son Stephen Rescues Buju Banton!

Our favorite federal blogger is having a hearing today over which private security detail is acceptable for Buju Banton.  I guess the AUSA is objecting to any company that does not employ off-duty law enforcement officers.  I Scribd the motion here.

This strikes me as highly stupid, and I hope the issue gets resolved quickly.

The more interesting thing (to me anyways) is that Bob Marley's son Stephen(!) has put up his Miami-Dade house as collateral for Buju's bond:

Mr. Myrie hereby notifies the Court that Stephen Marley, well-known entertainer and son of Bob Marley, and his wife Kertia DeCosta Marley, are willing to substitute as the signator for the bond in lieu of Mr. Chavalier. His property is located in Miami-Dade county and has an approximate equity of $350,000. As evidence, Mr. Myrie will provide the Court with a recent appraisal of the residence, a title search, a copy of deed and mortgages, outstanding mortgage balances, and affidavits from Mr. Marley and his wife. AUSA Preston objects.

 The AUSA objects to this too?

I'm glad I don't do that for a living.