Dancehall Artiste Laden Sentenced To Four Years In Prison

Dancehall artiste Laden was today sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm & 18 months for the illegal possession of ammunition. Both sentences will run concurrently, that is to run together, so he will serve a maximum of 4 years.

In practical terms, Laden, whose real name is O’keefe Aarons, may apply for parole after 1 year.

The sentencing process was lengthy and arduous, over two days, and it culminated in final submissions by Ms. Jodi Taylor, one of his attorneys, at the Black River parish court in St. Elizabeth.  Then the Court broke for some time to allow Justice Evon Brown to deliberate.

When Brown returned, he went through great lengths to explain how he arrived at the sentences, the aggravating circumstances, and the mitigating circumstances.

The police chase, the throwing away of the firearm were among several things deemed to be aggravating. His clean record, his contribution to his community as well as the character evidence by Christopher Martin and Cetany Holness were given great weight.

Mr. Aarons, 32, appeared more settled after the verdict and remained respectful to the Court and dignified in his conduct.

The deejay, who has been in police lock-up since his arrest in October, had pleaded guilty to charges of illegal possession of firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, and failing to stop at the request of the police when he was spotted breaching the national curfew set to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Last week, the entertainer was fined 2,000 for disobeying a cop’s instructions when his attorney-at-law appeared in court.

Laden rose to fame as a Digicel Rising Star top ten finalist under the stage name ‘Jim Laden’, and is known for songs like Time to Shine, Feelings too Heavy and Never Lonely.