Reggae singer gets nine months for cocaine
Published:Monday | June 1, 2015 | 12:00 AMChristopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:
On Monday, Claudette Miller-Robinson, former lead singer of reggae group Ebony, was sentenced to nine months in prison in relation to last year's cocaine bust at Sangster International Airport, in which she and five other musicians were implicated.
Entertainment manager Simone Bacchas, who was in the group of six, who were allegedly held with various quantities of the illicit substance prior to boarding a flight out of Jamaica, was also sentenced on Monday. Bacchas will spend five months in prison.
When the two women appeared before Resident Magistrate Natalie Hart-Hines in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court, the magistrate pointed out to them that the case against them, which resulted from the incident which occurred on December 18, 2014, was serious.
"This is a very serious offence, and while it might be an aberration of character, cocaine destroys lives and people lose their jobs, their homes and their sanity because of it," Hart-Hines said during the sentencing hearing.
Miller-Robinson and Bacchas, who had each pleaded guilty to possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export one and a half pounds of cocaine each in a previous court appearance, were both given mandatory sentences in addition to being fined.
north coast cabaret
Miller-Robinson, a leading voice on the north coast cabaret circuit for close to three decades, was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 or spend 30 days in prison on the possession charge, and $100,000 or three months on the attempted export charge.
Bacchas, a relatively new face on the entertainment circuit, was sentenced to five months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 or spend 30 days in prison on the possession charge, and $100,000 or three months on the attempted export charge.
The other four defendants, Garth Jobson, Ramone Rowe, Kevin Tapper and Kharell Wisdom, who had all previously pleaded guilty and had their cases disposed of, are now all serving custodial sentences.