Laden Remains In Custody, Other Suspects Get Bail In Illegal Gun Case

Dancehall entertainer Laden will remain in police custody for the next couple of days as he was remanded when his lawyer appeared in the St. Elizabeth Resident Magistrates’ court this morning.

The deejay, who has been in police lock-up since his arrest last Wednesday, did not appear in the St Elizabeth Parish Court this morning. He is facing charges of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act, and failing to stop on the request of the police.

The other two co-accused — 21-year-old Saaion Ebanks and his 16-year-old brother — were granted bail in the sum of $500,000.

“We are keeping a positive outlook. The investigating officer has sent the alleged firearm to Kingston for ballistic testing to see if it had been used in the commission of any crime on record and that can take two to three weeks,” Laden’s attorney Charles A Benbow told DancehallMag.

According to police reports, lawmen were in Cheapside district in St Elizabeth about 10:40 pm last Wednesday when they signalled the driver of a black Mercedes Benz motor car to stop.

The driver initially complied but sped off when the police approached.

The police said a chase ensued and during the chase an object was seen being thrown from the sunroof of the car. The vehicle was subsequently intercepted and the occupants searched.

The police reportedly went back to the area where the object was thrown and retrieved a Hi-point 9mm pistol with a magazine containing one 9mm round of ammunition.