Topmann’s Manager Arrested For Illegal Possession Of Firearm

Ricardo Downer, a businessman, who is also the manager of Dancehall artist Topmann, will return to court in March to face charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Downer, 28, of West Gate Hills, St. James, was arrested after his vehicle was searched during an operation in Granville in early January.

He is being represented by attorneys-at-law Martyn Thomas and Henry McCurdy. 

Reports from the Montego Bay Police are that at about 9:20 pm, a joint police/military team was conducting vehicular checks along Gordon Crescent in Granville.

Downer, who was reportedly driving a Toyota Axio motorcar, was signaled to stop. He complied, and a search of the vehicle was conducted, which resulted in the seizure of a Glock 9mm pistol with a magazine containing six cartridges.

He was subsequently arrested and charged.

Downer could be one of the first members of the entertainment fraternity to be punished under the new Firearms Bill, which proposes stiffer penalties for gun crimes.  The new legislation was passed in September 2022, according to Loop.

The Bill stipulates, among other things, a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for individuals convicted of illegal possession of a firearm or stockpiling of three or more firearms or 50 or more rounds of ammunition.

Over the last two years, artists Tommy Lee Sparta, Laden, and Shokryme all pled guilty to similar gun possession charges. 

Meanwhile, Rytikal was freed of gun possession charges in February 2022.