Jayda Cheaves Alleges She Took The “L” After Jamaican Attorney Kept US $50,000 Retainer
American influencer and entrepreneur Jayda “Jayda Wayda” Cheaves revealed that she had to take an ‘L’ after her Jamaican attorney allegedly kept most of the $50,000 retainer she had paid when she was arrested on gun charges while vacationing on the island in September.
Jayda and her associate Gregory Wright were each fined $800,00 JMD (approximately $5,300 USD) or 12 months imprisonment. The fines were $500,000 JMD each for the illegal possession of a firearm and $300,000 JMD each for illegal possession of ammunition.
The allegation was made during an Instagram Live on Saturday, December 4, which also saw Jayda accusing some members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) of turning their noses up at the fact that she and Wright weren’t imprisoned after they pled guilty to the charges.
During the Live Q&A session, Jayda noted that the experience was scary, however, she managed to maintain composure.
“I was so scared, because I’m like, I was over for. I don’t know nothing and this was my problem, I was in a foreign country, so I can’t just pick up the phone and call, I’m done. I was like, y’all can have my watch, y’all can have my chain—cause I only had on a watch and some bracelets and some rings. I’m like, y’all can have this (pointing to her wrist) y’all can have all of this. I’m like, this bracelet is worth US$10,000, just take it. Please let me go. But I kept it cute, I kept my composure. I wanted to cry so bad, but I kept it cute,” she recalled.
“I was so scared, the people in court…we had to go pick up our passports ‘cause they wouldn’t give us our passports back thinking that we’d probably just leave and not go to court. They held our passports until after court. After we (her and co-accused Gregory Wright) left Court and went to pick up our passports and the lady (member of the JCF) said, ‘the system has failed us again…,'” Jayda continued.
“They wanted us to stay in jail. They were mad that they let us out. I was like, OK, yeah it’s time for me to go…”
Cheaves, who was represented by attorney Martyn Thomas, alleged that her lawyer only refunded $4,000 out of the $50,000 retainer.
“My lawyer, when we hired him he charged $50,000 for court fees. Jamaican money only came out to $5000. He kept all that money. He did send back $4000 but I just had to take that ‘L'”, she told her viewers.
“I wired the money as soon as he told me the fee…the lady read out the amount we had to pay in court and o was like, ‘oh, be bout to pay us back’, but he didn’t.”
‘No Special Treatment’
Meanwhile, Attorney-at-law Michael Hemmings, who was part of the defense team for Cheaves and her co-defendant, had dismissed speculation that Cheaves got special treatment in the case which was discharged in three days.
“There was no special treatment. She was charged and offered station bail, a file was prepared, and she was taken to court on Wednesday. Locals are also charged and brought before the court speedily, so there is no special treatment,” Hemmings had told the Gleaner.
“I have represented persons in Jamaica, who are Jamaican nationals, for firearms offences, and they pay fines. It is not unusual or unprecedented, and I am not the first lawyer to do that, so it is nothing new, and the law provides for it,” the attorney added.
Dancehall artists Tommy Lee Sparta and Laden, who both recently pled guilty to illegal gun charges, are currently serving three and four years behind bars.
Reports were that Jayda, who was on the island for her 24th birthday in Montego Bay during late September, was about to leave the Sangster International Airport by private jet on September 27 when abnormalities were observed in the luggage belonging to the two American nationals. The police were alerted and two 9 mm pistols and the ammunition were handed over to them. According to police reports, the two admitted to owning the firearms and ammo which were licensed in the United States but were not allowed to take them into the island.
Cheaves rose to prominence after the release of her 2018 book 15 Steps to Become a Young Boss. She also has an online boutique called Amourayda. Her YouTube channel has 327,000 subscribers and she has 5.9 million followers on Instagram.
She is also the mother of rapper Lil Baby’s son.