Dancehall Star Popcaan Pleads Not Guilty To Half Dozen Traffic Charges
Dancehall star Popcaan has pleaded not guilty to several charges in breach of the Road Traffic Act in the Yallahs Traffic Court in St Thomas on Thursday, June 3.
The Unruly Boss, who is signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label, pleaded not guilty to charges including operating an unlicensed motor vehicle, driving without insurance coverage, having no valid certificate of fitness, having no fixed registration plate, driving without a helmet, driving with no side-view mirror, and careless driving.
The 32-year-old Risky artist, whose real name is Andre Sutherland, was charged in late April after the police allegedly intercepted his nine-vehicle convoy in St Thomas.
During his appearance in the Traffic court this morning, Popcaan denied the charges and reportedly claimed that he was not driving the bike when the police intercepted the convoy.
Popcaan also reportedly told the judge that the bike is a three-wheel motorcycle and that it was lying on the side of the road when the police arrived.
The singer, who is represented by Matthew Hyatt, will next appear in court on September 2 when a trial date is expected to be set.
If found guilty under the Road Traffic Act, the El Chapo singer faces a $15,000 fine for driving a motor vehicle on a road without a valid certificate of fitness; a $10,000 for driving a motor vehicle on a road without it being registered in the prescribed manner; a $20,000 for driving a motor vehicle in a careless manner; a $5,000 fine for the un-affixed registration plates; a $40,000 fine if he is found to not be the holder of a permit or driver’s licence; and a $8,000 fine for failure to wear a protective helmet in the prescribed manner of the prescribed shape, quality, construction or standard, while driving or riding on a motorcycle.
‘Unfair Targeting’
In April, a day after his arrest, Popcaan ranted on Twitter, alleging that he was being unfairly targeted by the St Thomas cops and that his annual Unruly Fest fundraiser concert was now in limbo as a result.
However, Jamaican cops have since denied Popcaan’s assertions, with Commanding Officer for the St Thomas parish, Superintendent Allison Byfield, claiming that the arresting officer did not even know who the International Dancehall singer was.
The Superintendent told the STAR that on the day Popcaan was prosecuted, the police had received reports that a river party was being held in Sunning Hill, and ‘acting upon intelligence”, they went to the area where they intercepted a fleet of vehicles with the entertainer in the midst on a bike.
Byfield added that along with contravening the law on that day, Popcaan had been warned the week before about hosting events in contravention of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) after he was spotted at the same site in the company of other persons. Under the DRMA, there is a ban on all public events in Jamaica.
Byfield contended that nobody is above the law, and that “everyone travelling through the parish must have a vehicle that is properly regulated and deemed fit for the road.”
However, one St. Thomas resident and eyewitness described the situation as being a “big sting operation” and an act of persecution on a “young man in his community, on a dirt road… riding a dirt bike on a dirt track”, and one “whose enduring passion has been to develop his underdeveloped parish”.
The resident, Allana Davis, also rebuked the Jamaica Constabulary Force for its poor community policing practices and lack of engagement of the young men in the Bath area, and expressed dismay at how the police quickly sent, to national media outlets, details of Popcaan’s prosecution.
Popcaan, who is best known for songs like Family, Everything Nice, Silence, and Numbers Don’t Lie, has previously pleaded guilty to ganja possession in 2011 and to assaulting and obstructing a cop in Antigua in 2016.
He was fined on both occasions.