Dark destiny

A co-defendant of troubled reggae star Buju Banton has entered a plea deal with United States prosecutors.

Tampa Bay Online said the third co-defendant, Ian Thomas, will plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilos or more of cocaine.

Tampa Bay Online based its article on what it said is an agreement filed in court yesterday.

Banton, a four-time Grammy nominee, is set to stand trial September 20 along with another co-defendant, James Mack, on charges they participated in a cocaine deal in Sarasota, Florida.

Banton, 37, has been held without bail since his arrest last December on charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine, and aiding and abetting his co-defendants in possessing a firearm during the course of the cocaine distribution.

The charge carries up to life in federal prison.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, claims he was entrapped. An informant involved with the case has been paid US$3.3 million working with law enforcement over several years, including more than US$35,000 in the case against Banton.

"Paying a convicted drug trafficker millions of dollars for setting up an innocent productive member of society is wrong," Banton's attorney, David Oscar Markus, said in an email to The Tampa Tribune.

"The prosecution's star is laughing at all of us: he doesn't pay taxes, he stopped paying the mortgage on his million-dollar house, he doesn't pay his credit cards, and he gets to stay in this country even though he committed crimes here as an illegal immigrant. We're hoping the jury will see through his charade."

Tampa Bay Online has said that although Thomas may

testify against Banton, co-defendant Mack has signed an affidavit on behalf of the singer.

Mack, 48, says in the affidavit that he had not met Banton before his arrest, and that Banton had no knowledge of the money and gun that were in Mack's car.

Meanwhile, Buju's record company is set to release his ninth studio album, Before the Dawn, in the United States. The release will take place on September 29, nine days after the start of the trial.

"The album's unofficial anthem, Innocent, strikes a highly personal chord that will resonate deeply with long-time fans," according to a press release from Gargamel Music Inc.

Meanwhile, Gargamel Music Inc said Buju's new album would contain "a special note written from inside the Pinellas County Jail".