Tommy Lee Sparta Arrested Again: A Timeline Of The Dancehall Star’s Run-Ins With The Law
Dancehall star Tommy Lee Sparta’s myriad of woes with the Constabulary in Jamaica has been well documented over the last few years.
However, the proverbial “tough luck” with law enforcement, which has plagued the Spartan Soldier artiste since 2014, did not have its genesis in Jamaica, but rather in the CARICOM island of Dominica, where he was denied entry to perform at a concert and forced to spend the night in a detention center, on a concrete floor, hours after he flew into the country on a private jet.
The entertainer, whose given name is Leroy Russell Jr., was back in the news last night when he was taken into police custody after being allegedly caught in possession of an illegal gun.
For context, here’s a chronological list of Russell’s legal troubles over the last six years.
February 2014: In the Dominica saga, Sparta’s detention had come amidst protest and calls for a boycott by The Dominica Association of Evangelical Churches (DAEC), who objected to his Uncle Demon image.
The churches had claimed that the Psycho artiste was a part of “the powers of darkness” and was glorifying Satan during his performances, and so Dominicans should send a “strong message” that they would “not support anything that promotes violence and lawlessness” in their country, according to Dominica News Online.
Sparta was hospitalized the following day, after coming under severe muscle spasms and blood clotting in one of his legs, triggered by the cold concrete which had impacted the metal pins which were inserted in the limb, following a motor vehicle crash in his Montego Bay hometown months before.
February 2014: Tommy Lee Sparta’s first brush with the Jamaican law enforcement authorities came in 2014 after he was arrested and charged for lottery scamming-related offenses, following a raid on his Kingston 5 dwelling.
Back then a laptop computer belonging to him was also seized after it was reportedly found with personal information of several United States residents, but he was freed of the charges four years later, according to the Jamaica Observer.
July 2015: The Montego Bay police prevented Sparta from performing at Reggae Sumfest that year, citing what they described as “fear of patrons’ safety”.
In a statement that condemned the police action, Sparta said “how can the police prevent a citizen from engaging legitimate employment! My attorney-at-law will be filing action in the Supreme Court for financial compensation! I was ready to explode tonight.”
July 2016: Sparta was listed as a person of interest by detectives in the Kingston Eastern police Division in relation to a shooting incident on Saunders Avenue in the island’s capital.
The singer turned himself in and was questioned in the presence of his lawyer Ernest Smith, who claimed that the police were abusing their power, according to Nationwide Radio.
January 2017: The entertainer was asked to turn himself in for questioning at the Freeport Police Station in Montego Bay, in relation to a shooting in the Flanker community during the Christmas holiday, according to Loop News.
He was however cleared of any wrongdoing.
May 2018: Sparta was again taken into custody in Manor Park, St Andrew, following his performance at the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall talent show and transferred, hours later to St. James, according to RJRNews. The police had described Tommy Lee as a dangerous Montego Bay gangster who was behind many criminal activities in St James.
His lawyer, Ernest Smith, rejected the police’s accusations and contended that the detention in St James is unlawful because, contrary to the police claims of him living in Montego Bay, Tommy Lee had been living in Kingston for the past four years.
A member of Sparta’s legal team also complained about a photo of the entertainer, clad in his underwear while in custody which was being circulated via social media. The attorney argued that the photo had to be taken by a member of the police force, described it as “extremely unprofessional” and called on the Commissioner of Police to take disciplinary action.
The Jamaica Observer reported that a judge ordered his release on May 30, 2018.
September 2019: Montego Bay-based promoters and lawyers complained to Minister of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang, during a Noise Abatement Act meeting, that the police high command in Montego Bay has been unlawfully targeting Tommy Lee Sparta, by barring him from performing in any of the four parishes in Western Jamaica.
Tommy Lee has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming that he is not a wrongdoer and that he is being unfairly targeted by the police, who have, between barring him from shows and taking him into custody, caused him to suffer losses of tens of millions of dollars in earnings.
March 2020: The deejay’s young daughter was shot by a stray bullet during a melee in the Flanker community in Montego Bay. She survived, but a nine-year-old was killed during the incident.
Police reported that three men had a dispute in the community and the ensuing argument led to a shootout, in which the third man was hit when the other two men drew their weapons.
July 2020: Sparta, who hails from Flanker, saw his antecedents coming back to haunt him, after he was placed in detention under a State of Public Emergency which was underway in St. James on July 7. The deejay reportedly broke down in tears when he turned himself in.
At the time he was named a person of interest in investigations into an uptick of violence in sections of the second city and was accused of having influence over the St James-based Downtown Sparta Gang.
In late July, while still in police custody, Sparta was taken to the Corporate Area in Kingston, where raids were conducted at several apartments. Police made the announcement while also revealing the arrest of ten men who they say are affiliated with the Sparta Gang. The cops, in their press release on July 31, did not indicate what role Tommy Lee Sparta played in the searches and the arrests.
He was released after 41 days in police custody on August 17, without being charged, after he appeared in front of a tribunal which found that there was no incriminating evidence against him, and therefore no justifiable reason for him to have been detained under a State of Emergency.
December 2020: Sparta was again detained for the second time this year yesterday evening after the discovery of an illegal Glock pistol along Holborn Road in New Kingston.
He was arrested by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s SWAT division along with seven other individuals and was formally charged today with illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.
The singer is being represented by Queen’s Counsel Tom Tavares Finson and Donahue Martin, and is scheduled to appear on January 6, 2021 in the Corporate Area Parish court to answer the two charges which carry a combined penalty of up to 5 years in prison.