Tommy Lee Sparta Denied Bail, To Stand Trial On March 24

Dancehall entertainer Tommy Lee Sparta was remanded into custody when he appeared via Zoom in the High Court Division of the Gun Court today.

The artiste, who is on gun and ammunition charges, will next appear in court on March 24 after the court rejected a bail application.

The case was heard in camera, that is, in the private chambers of the judge, with the press and public excluded.

The Ghetto Cry deejay, who has had several run-ins with the law, is being represented by Donahue Martin and Queen’s Counsel Tom Tavares-Finson.

Tommy Lee — whose real name is Leroy Russell — was arrested on December 14, 2020, by members of the JCF’s Specialised Operations Unit. He was apprehended after a Toyota Mark X motorcar in which he was traveling was intercepted on Holborn Road, in St Andrew. A 9mm pistol containing 18 rounds of ammunition was allegedly found in his waistband.

In Good Spirits

Sparta remains in good spirits, according to his manager and owner of Boss Lady Muzik Nicole Taban. She told the Jamaica STAR yesterday that “it’s business as usual”.

“Right now we are just rolling with the punches,” Taban said.

The singer has released two music videos since the start of the year, Ghetto Cry and Holding On.  According to Taban, his latest single, Elegante, a collaboration with Mexican reggae artiste Jah Fabio and Cashan, will be his breakthrough into the Latin American market.

“All he wants to do is spread his music. Visitations are limited, most are just a few seconds from afar, so I haven’t had the chance to speak to him in-depth about anything,” she added.

She revealed that over the last six months, Tommy Lee Sparta’s music received an estimated 2.5 million streams monthly worldwide across several platforms, 78 per cent of them from males between 18 and 35, and 24.6 percent of that is from West Africa.