It's for us to prove 'serious gangster' Tommy Lee lives in St James - Police
Published:Tuesday | May 22, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Livern Barrett, Senior Gleaner Writer
Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell says it is for the police to prove that detained dancehall artiste Tommy Lee has been residing in St James where he is now being held under the powers of the State of Public Emergency.
Tommy Lee, whose real name is Leroy Russell, was taken into custody in Manor Park, St Andrew, early Sunday morning shortly after he performed at the televised talent show Magum Kings and Queens of Dancehall.
Hours later, he was transported to St James.
His lawyer, Ernest Smith, has contended that the detention in St James is unlawful because Tommy Lee has been living in Kingston for the past four years.
"That is the lawyer's view," Powell told The Gleaner this morning.
"Our investigation will either prove or disprove that."
According to Smith, Tommy Lee moved to Kingston almost Five years ago because he was constantly being harassed by the police in St James.
Meanwhile, Powell, the police commander in charge of the State of Public Emergency in St James, has described Tommy Lee as a "serious gangster."
"Tommy Lee, as far as we know, is a serious gangster... Somebody who intelligence report indicate, is behind a lot the criminal activities in St James," Powell said.
He also dismissed assertions that the police transferred Tommy Lee to Montego Day and detained him under the state of emergency to avoid having to release him.
"You can be held anywhere under the state of emergency. If we believe that you flee the state of emergency we can hold you anywhere," he explained.
Smith was yesterday planning to file a court application called a habeas corpus for the police to release the artiste if he was not charged with a criminal offence.
In the meantime, Powell says investigators will respect the entertainer's human and constitutional rights, but will not relent in their investigations.
"If we have intelligence that he is involved in criminal activities we are going to seek to interview him and to carry out investigations around him irrespective of who he is," Powell insisted.
He said Tommy Lee is to be questioned by detectives shortly.