Buju will have Valentine’s retrial

Buju remains on bail which he secured in November. He has been subjected to house arrest, is under 24-hour guard, and wears an electronic monitor.

FLORIDA, United States, – Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton will again face a judge and jury on drug and gun charges on Valentine’s Day, five months after his first case ended in mistrial.

United States District Judge James Moody has set February 14 as the date for the retrial but it’s still unclear whether additional charges brought by the prosecution will be among those the entertainer will fight this time around. 

Buju, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was tried last September on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and aiding and abetting two others in possessing a firearm during the course of distribution. However, a mistrial was declared after jurors could not reach a verdict.

Since then prosecutors have secured a new grand jury indictment which includes four counts: 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 drug-trafficking offence; and using the wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offence.

However, Buju’s lawyers are fighting the new indictment on the grounds that it is not permissible for new charges to be brought on old information.

A judge is yet to rule on that issue.

Meantime, Buju remains on bail which he secured in November. He has been subjected to house arrest, is under 24-hour guard, and wears an electronic monitor.