BY KARYL WALKER Online News Editor walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, June 29, 2011

DEFENSE attorney representing incarcerated Reggae icon Buju Banton says his assets will not be seized by the United States Government as suggested in legal circles.

"There was no basis in law or in fact for the government to go after Buju's assets. The so-called lawyer who was going around saying that the government could and would try to take Buju's assets does not understand the basic tenets of the US legal system and he should not be relied on," Markus told the Observer.

During the artiste's two trials in the Sam M Gibbons US Court in Tampa, Florida, a drug enforcement agent said the artiste was being investigated for a year and no evidence was found to suggest that he had benefitted in any way from any illicit drug transaction.

Banton was last Thursday sentenced to 10 years in prison following his conviction in February for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilogrammes of cocaine. Markus said his client may spend six years due to time already served and if he behaves in a manner which convinces his jailers that he bears no threat to society.

Banton is expected to be moved from the Pinellas County Jail to another facility in Tampa before he is placed at a prison to be decided by the US Correctional Service.

"The Bureau of Prisons has not decided yet where Buju will serve his sentence. That will take some time," said Markus.

Markus has also signalled his intention to appeal the sentence in an appellate court in the neighbouring state of Georgia.

Banton was arrested at his home at Tamarac, South Florida in December 2009.

Source: Jamaica Observer