Beenie Man Charged Over Alleged Illegal Party
Dancehall veteran Beenie Man has been slapped with two charges in connection to an alleged illegal party that breached Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) and the Noise Abatement Act.
After a summons was issued by St. Elizabeth police yesterday, the entertainer checked into the Black River Police Station, according to Head of the JCF Communications Unit Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay.
He was then charged with the two offences.
The singer, whose real name is Moses Davis, was granted station bail and will appear in the St Elizabeth Parish Court on Wednesday, February 10.
The charges stem from an illegal party held in the Shrewsbury district, in the St. Elizabeth parish on November 29. The police turned up at the party, dispersed the crowd, and Beenie was warned for prosecution.
Beenie Man’s failure to heed previous warnings by promoting a planned New Year’s Eve party has apparently earned the ire of police in the parish.
“The summons will be issued as long as I can find him or else I will be sending it to Kingston to be served on him, because enough is enough. Mr Davis has done this before and we went, and we warned him, and he continues to have these kinds of social gatherings,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in charge of St Elizabeth, told the Jamaica Observer.
“This event for which no permit was issued would clearly be in breach of the DRMA, hence this warning is being issued to him not to host any event in St. Elizabeth or anywhere else in Jamaica,” the DSP added.
We reported in September, that police had shut down an event that Beenie Man hosted in memory of his mother, Lilieth Sewell, who had recently passed away. Beenie was not arrested because he complied with police orders to end the event, according to Stephanie Lindsay.
For his birthday in August, the entertainer hosted scores of family and friends at Kaya Herb House and observers on social media were quick to point out that COVID-19 protocols weren’t being observed.
Simms also warned yesterday that patrons who attend Beenie Man‘s planned New Year’s Eve event could be prosecuted. “Patrons who intend to attend this event are also being warned not to attend as they too would be in breach of the DRMA and will be prosecuted when caught.”
Beenie’s event, which was set for Friday, January 1, 2021 between the hours of midnight and 7:00 a.m., was promoted by the entertainer in a video posted to social media.
Simms stated that entertainment events will not be tolerated and urged the public to respect the DRMA and other measures put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19. Current measures include a gathering limit capped at 15 and an islandwide curfew from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am daily.
During his highly rated Verzuz battle with Bounty Killer in May 2020, Beenie Man memorably fended off police interruption at a Corporate Area, Kingston studio as the live stream picked up traction with 400,000 viewers. That Verzuz clash was the first in the series, where contenders faced off against each other in the same room and many had speculated that the interruption was due to 8 PM COVID-19 curfew measures at the time and limits on social gatherings.
Jamaican promoter and organizer of the battle, Sharon Burke, later clarified that the police were not there to stop the event. “The police were just passing to check on us and when they came in, I think everyone misunderstood the moment,” said Burke.