Tommy Lee Sparta’s Illegal Gun Reportedly Linked To Murders Of Roy Fowl, Oney British
Tommy Lee Sparta’s illegal gun was reportedly used in the killings of two well-known Dancehall personalities of the British Link Up Crew in 2019.
The Constabulary Communication Unit, the information arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, refused to comment on the report by Nationwide Radio that the gun seized from Tommy Lee Sparta, had been linked to the murders of Owen Clarke, also known as Roy Fowl or Father Fowl and Alphanso Harriott, also known as Oney British, over two years ago.
Dennis Brooks, communications strategist at the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) told DancehallMag curtly: “We won’t be commenting on this.”
Roy Fowl and Oney British were party promoters who funded the popular British Link Up entertainment events in Jamaica and the United Kingdom. Clarke was a music promoter and had been previously convicted of dealing drugs.
Owen ‘Roy Fowl’ Clarke was killed by gunmen on February 23, 2019, while he partied at an event near Half Way Tree in St. Andrew. Days later, on March 29th of the same year, Alphanso ‘Oney British’ Harriott was killed by gunmen on Mountain View Avenue.
It was revealed yesterday that a ballistics investigation determined that cartridge casings and projectiles, which were found at the scene of both murders, were discharged from the gun which was seized from Tommy Lee in December 2020.
Sparta, whose real name is Leroy Russell Junior, was sentenced to three years in prison for the illegal weapon on March 24 after he pleaded guilty.
Attorney-at-law Donahue Martin, the lawyer representing Tommy Lee Sparta, has denied his client’s involvement in any “murders or acts of violence”. “We deny any involvement in any act of violence or murder, or any acts of shooting,” Mr. Martin told DancehallMag a day ago.
The police have yet to place formal murder charges against Tommy Lee Sparta, or make arrangements with his legal team to conduct a question and answer segment with the deejay to address these latest developments.
The firearm has also been connected to three cases of shooting with intent.
Tommy Lee Sparta‘s conviction on the gun charge was his first, but it followed several run-ins with the law over the last six years.
Notably, he was detained without charge for 41 days last year, after he was named a person of interest in investigations into an uptick of violence in sections of the second city, Montego Bay. The Rich Badness deejay was accused of having influence over the St James-based Downtown Sparta Gang.
He has denied the allegation.
The 33-year-old singer emerged from Vybz Kartel’s Portmore “Gaza” Empire and is best known for Spartan Soldier, Spartan Angel, Psycho, and Blessings. The singer has released two music videos since the start of the year, Ghetto Cry, Holding On, as well as an anti-violence collaboration with 15 other Dancehall artists, titled Brighter Days that was three years in the making.