Dantay Brooks, the 18-year-old son of Dancehall entertainer Mavado, and his co-accused Andre Hinds have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, today in circuit court.
Brooks must serve at least 22 years before being eligible for parole. He was also sentenced to 15 years for illegal possession of a firearm and 15 years to arson.
Co-accused Andre Hinds is only eligible for parole before serving at least 17 years. Hinds was also sentenced to 15 years for illegal possession of a firearm and 15 years for arson.
The sentences handed down by Judge Leighton Pusey will be served simultaneously.
Brooks’ attorney, Peter Champagnie, has vowed to appeal. ‘We have fertile ground on which to appeal. “We respect the decision of the judge, but we will act on the right of persons to challenge the verdict,” he said. DancehallMag.
Brooks and Hinds were convicted earlier this year on the three charges as a result of a 2018 home invasion in Cassava Piece, St. Louis. Andrew, who left Lorenzo Thomas dead.
At the time of his arrest on a murder charge, Brooks was on bail from another case and had already served 18 months on a previous offense.
Asked why Brooks was sentenced longer than his co-accused, Champagne explained: ‘The court held that Brooks’ role was more instrumental than Hinds’. The report returned that Brooks was on bail at the time of the offense, and that this was not the case with Hinds. ”
Prosecutors testified during the trial that Brooks and Hinds were among five men who stormed into Thomas’ home and shot him. Thomas ‘father, who was unharmed, gave an important testimony that testified to the gang’s efforts to chop off Thomas’ head and the use of gasoline to set the body and house on fire.
The murder allegedly took place a few days after a group of men in the Cassava Piece community were shot on Mavado. He was not injured, but according to Loop, the singer reported the incident to the Constant Spring police.
Constant Spring police later issued a wanted bulletin to Mavado after they landed at the entertainer’s Norbrook residence in search of him for questioning about a rise in community violence. Loop News reports that he had already left for the United States the night before the raid on the home.
Following the verdict in January, Mavado cried ‘corruption’, claiming that his teenage son and co-accused Andre Hinds was not getting a fair trial. Addressing the testimony of Thomas ‘father, he said:’ This man also stood up and said that the same police officers who arrested my son and my family from my house were working for me and that he feared for his life. . ‘
“The same man who claims to have feared for his life, still gave more than 14 pages of statements? The inconsistencies in this statement only shed light on the corruption, ”Mavado added.