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January 07, 2010
Buju for court today in Tampa
Reggae/dancehall artiste Mark “Buju Banton” Myrie is scheduled to make his first appearance today in a Tampa courtroom, where he faces federal drug charges, according to a report carried in the Miami Herald.
Buju was recently moved to Tampa from a jail in Miami where he spent Christmas. He is accused, along with two others, of trying to buy more than five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute in early December from an undercover law-enforcement officer in Sarasota.
Gargamel Music Inc., the artiste’s own record label, announced Wednesday that Buju has hired highly-regarded Miami criminal defense attorney David Oscar Markus to fight the drug charges.
Markus is reported as saying that Banton is innocent and was set up by "some evil people trying to take advantage of his trusting and honest character."
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Banton's most recent album, Rasta Got Soul, is nominated for the Grammy Reggae Album of the Year.