Tommy Lee Sparta released - Attorney promises to sue the State

Dancehall artiste Tommy Lee Sparta, who was detained under the state of public emergency (SOE) in St James, was released on Monday, and his lawyer has also pledged to sue the State. "The tribunal handed down their findings today (Monday) and I received an email at 11:59 a.m. with the details," attorney-at-law Ernest Smith told THE STAR. Initially, a person of interest following a flare up of violence in Montego Bay, Tommy Lee Sparta was subsequently held in custody, without charge, from July 7 until August 17. "The tribunal ruled that the evidence was insufficient to keep Leroy Russell (the entertainer's given name) detained in the interest of public safety and that he should be released immediately. That means that whether or not the SOE was disbanded, my client would have been set free," Smith said.

The attorney said that he called the artiste's brother to tell him of the good news and when he thought he was talking to the sibling, he was actually talking to Tommy Lee.

Seek vengeance

"He hailed me up and said 'King'. During one of the question-and-answer sessions, they brought up the fact that his little daughter had been shot and asked if he wasn't going to seek vengeance. Tommy Lee told them that he has asked the Lord to protect his child, and that vengeance belongs to God. I was so proud of him," Smith told THE STAR.

The lawyer emphasised that there was "absolutely no justification" to keep his client in custody and charged that the incident was laced with malice.

"In 2014, the police from St James carried out a raid on his house in Kingston and accused him of lottery scamming. He went to court and was acquitted on a no-case submission, which only highlighted the weakness of the prosecution's case," he said. Smith, in a bid to ensure that "justice rolls down like water" intends to file an action for false imprisonment as well as for loss of income. "He lost million of dollars from shows in parishes such as St James, Hanover and Westmoreland because the promoters were threatened that they would not receive permits to host the events unless they removed his name off the poster. It even stretched overseas to the extent that Tommy Lee has been named persona non grata by the US Embassy because of the file that the police has created on him." Tommy Lee Sparta was detained at the Freeport police lock-up in Montego Bay.