The Jamaican police have an outstanding warrant for the arrest of international dancehall star Mavado, a police official and the entertainer’s attorney have confirmed to The Gleaner.
Mavado, whose real name is David Brooks, is wanted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm arising from an incident in 2018, Deputy Superintendent Randy Sweeney, head of the St Andrew North Police, revealed.
Sweeney declined to disclose details of the alleged assault.
Oswest Senior-Smith, one of the entertainer’s attorneys, acknowledged that he had been “officially notified” of the warrant, which was issued on June 9, 2018.
According to Senior-Smith, the warrant is based on a complaint by Anthony Goulbourne.
Goulbourne’s complaint was made after he was arrested and charged by the police for allegedly shooting at Mavado in June 2018, the attorney noted.
“He has always denied any offence that could give rise to a warrant and particularly the assault that is alleged. That has always been his position,” Senior-Smith said during an interview with The Gleaner on Friday.
Questions have been swirling for years about whether there is an arrest warrant for the Gully Side hit-maker, who now resides overseas.
The issue came up in 2022 when the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) – Jamaica’s prosecutorial authority – sought to get approval for Mavado to give evidence via video-link in the fraud case against disbarred attorney Jennifer Messado.
The entertainer, who has claimed that he was fleeced of $30 million by Messado in a real estate deal, is the complainant in that case.
However, the case hit a snag after it was revealed that authorisation for Mavado to give his evidence via video-link could only be granted if there was no outstanding warrant for him in Jamaica.
That fraud case against Messado is ongoing.
In a social media post at the time, Mavado railed at what he described as a “fake warrant” and corrupt cops at the Constant Spring Police Station.
The entertainer said up to the time he left Jamaica, his attorneys were in constant dialogue with the Jamaican police, and there was never any mention of a warrant for his arrest.
“Nothing like that was said to my lawyers over a four-year period,” he said in a post on his Instagram account in 2022.
However, Senior-Smith, his attorney, said the ODPP has since confirmed the existence of the warrant.
“I have seen copies of this warrant which is said to exist,” he said.
The attorney said Mavado was “very surprised” when he first learnt of the warrant.
He noted that Goulbourne – whose complaint led to the arrest warrant – reported the alleged assault after he was placed before the Gun Court on criminal charges for allegedly shooting at the entertainer.
Earlier this month, Mavado railed against the authorities for trying to “drag my name through the mud to help them carry out their wrongdoings” in a social media post about the “injustice” of his son, Dantay Brooks, being convicted of murder in 2021. On March 7 this year, the Court of Appeal overturned the murder conviction of Dantay and co-accused Andre Hinds.
Deputy Superintendent Sweeney disclosed to The Gleaner that the police have made numerous attempts to execute the warrant on Mavado, including visits to addresses and other places the entertainer is known to frequent.
He said the police are now aware that the entertainer is overseas.
Citing the provisions of the Extradition Treaty between Jamaica and the United States – where it is believed Mavado resides – legal experts believe the self-styled Gully Gad could be extradited to his homeland to stand trial.
The treaty stipulates that the conduct alleged must be a criminal offence in both countries. It also mandates that an offence is extraditable if it is punishable by a sentence of up to three years in prison.
Under Section 43 of Jamaica’s Offenses Against the Person Act, assault occasioning actual bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment.
Sweeney declined to comment when asked by The Gleaner if Jamaican authorities would seek to have the entertainer extradited to stand trial. (Jamaica Gleaner)
