Javon ‘Sarge’ Lothian, Grandson Of Reggae Legend Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, Gunned Down

Studio engineer Javon ‘Sarge’ Lothian, the grandson of reggae legend Earl Chinna Smith, was gunned down in a triple murder over the weekend.

“He always wanted to be an engineer, he is the grandson of my father, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, so he has an incredible musical background. He even has two Billboard plaques, one with Teejay and one with Alkaline album. Anywhere the music de, he is going to be there, he loved music so much, I can’t believe he is dead,” Isha Smith, the mother of Javon, told DancehallMag.

Lothian was involved in the mixing and mastering of tracks on Alkaline’s Top Prize album.

Lothian, who lived in Coral Gables in Independence City, was one of three men, including two brothers, who were shot dead by gunmen during an attack at their home on Mangerine Close in Lime Tree Grove, Spanish Town, St Catherine on Friday night.

Two other men were injured during the incident and have since been admitted to hospital, police said.

The dead men have been identified as brothers, Ricardo ‘Hyper’ Clayton, 42, a recording artiste from Lime Tree Grove and Michael Clayton, otherwise called ‘Itsy’, a businessman from the United Kingdom.

Reports are that around 10:30 pm, the five men were aboard a white Honda Step WGN, which had just pulled up at the gates of the Clayton family home.

The men, the police said, were about to exit the vehicle when they were pounced upon by two men, both armed with handguns.

The men reportedly opened gunfire, hitting everyone in the vehicle. Ricardo ran onto a track beside his house and was reportedly chased and shot by his attackers.

Residents and police rushed all five injured men to hospital, where the Clayton brothers were pronounced dead on arrival and Lothian died while undergoing treatment.

“I was at Bridgeport (in Portmore) when I heard the news, I was so surprised, Javon’s life is music, from him small, is music. The first gift he ever got was a musical guitar, if him is in a bus, him ah beat the chair to a riddim before him reach where him reach now,” Isha Smith, who is a mother of five, said.

Lothian was her oldest child.

“From what I know, Javon was about to do a video shoot for an artiste known Brandish. He was going to pick up an interface (studio equipment) for his studio from Brandish’s brother, and they were going to a cookout that Brandish in Lime Tree Grove, and they went to pick up something rounda the house when they were attacked,” Isha said.

A motive has not yet been established for the attack, the police said.