From left, Bounty Killer, Miss Ting and I-Wayne

Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter

Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Mavado, Miss Ting, I-Wayne, Peter Metro, Frisco Kid. They have more in common than being performers.

Since the start of the year they have all been in contact with the mighty hand of the law and in some cases it has catapulted the obscure into notoriety.

Miss Ting, who is mainly known for her hit Dude with Beenie Man, slowly faded when the song did. However, earlier this year she was reintroduced to the public when she was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and landed in court. She was back in the public eye.

In April Natesha 'Miss Ting' Lindsay and a friend were at a party when the complainant stepped on Ms. Ting's toe. The complainant was pushed and an argument ensued. The court heard that she left the party and was walking with her two year-old daughter in hand, when she was stabbed from behind with a pair of scissors. She was subsequently admitted to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) for three days. Miss Ting pleaded guilty to the charges.

Though he is never out of the musical limelight, Adijah 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer has been heavily featured in another way since the start of the year. Shortly after assault charges were dropped (those from the 2003 Sting incident involving Ninja Man), he was again being hunted by the police for malicious destruction of property.

The allegations are that on September 4 at about 11 a.m., Palmer went to the house of his child's mother in Christian Pen, St. Catherine, and, after a dispute, a machete was used to smash several appliances and furniture, including a television, stereo, bed and wardrobe which valued approximately $200,000. After repeated attempts to contact Palmer a warrant was ordered for his arrest.

Kartel, in an interview published in the Wednesday, September 13 edition of the STAR, admitted to committing the offence, saying "yeah, den wi nuh people man." However, he claimed his child's mother went to the police station the following day and said she did not want to pursue the matter. He said she made the report 'in di heat of tings" but "she went to the station on two occasions and tell them that she don't want to pursue it."

Usually Clifroy 'I-Wayne' Taylor is on the safer side of the law. However, in March he was slapped with several charges - assaulting a policeman, resisting arrest and obstructing police. Since then, two of the charges have been dropped.

The allegations are that on Sunday, March 26, about 2:20 p.m. the police were on patrol in the Liberty Hill area of Garveymeade in Portmore when a man identified as Renardo Yap was seen smoking ganja from a chillum pipe. He was approached by the police who pointed out the offence and was in the process of arresting him when it is alleged that I-Wayne intervened. It is understood that the policeman was grabbed and prevented from taking Yap to the police station.

Charges dropped

According to I-Wayne's manager, Patrick 'Mr. Z' Henry, "it did not affect his career really. He didn't do anything, so two of the charges were dropped, but the one about obstructing the police was still there". I-Wayne paid a fine of $1000.

Mr. Z said "people didn't believe. They were saying 'that's not like I-Wayne'. But some people were shying away from him, especially in Europe. They started sending a bunch of e-mails and all that, but after they realised that it wasn't that serious, because it was a petty session matter and it wouldn't affect his travelling. There was no fingerprint for cursing the bad word and resisting arrest. I-Wayne is a peaceful youth and doesn't encourage violence".

Henry says he always encourages I-Wayne to stay out of trouble. "I encourage him to stay on the right side of the law. After that he was saying that he would never like to see inside a courthouse again," Mr. Z said.

And then there was Bounty Killer.

Using indecent language

Since the start of the year, he has been charged with assault and occasioning grievous bodily harm, using indecent language and abusive language in two separate incidents. He has since appeared in the Yallahs Resident Magistrate's court to answer to charges.

Bounty Killer, whose real name is Rodney Pryce in incident number one was charged with assaulting the mother of his child.

The allegations are about 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24, Pryce, 34, was passing by when he saw the mother of his child, 33 year-old Julie Rambally, on her way with friends to a popular Monday night session along Constant Spring Road.

Pryce allegedly accosted Rambally and an argument began. It was reported that the altercation became physical and she was punched in the face several times. She was dragged some distance away (near South Avenue), her head slammed into a wall and she was kicked to the ground. Pryce pleaded not guilty.

Then a few weeks ago at his concert Saddle to the East in St. Thomas, while on stage, he cursed and was subsequently charged under the Towns and Communities Act with using indecent language and abusive language. He pleaded not guilty and the matter is still in court.

Superintendent in charge of the St. Catherine South division, Terrence Bent said artistes "have a tendency to show scant regard for some aspects of the law, like the Towns and Communities Act, where they use profane language, saying that we restrict their creative expression".

"(They should act) like a regular citizen if they want to be treated like a regular citizen. If you break the law then you will have to pay the consequences. For example, when they are stopped for road checks they are usually very loud and aggressive and sometimes, because the police are also humans, the police react in the wrong way and deal with them in an aggressive nature," he said.

Allan Wilson, a graphic artist, says his opinion of an artiste changes only if the person is not known for violence and there is a sudden shift in his or her behaviour.

Clean cut artistes

"My opinion of an artiste only change if it's a clean cut artiste and we don't really have many of those on the dancehall scene that get in trouble. If it was Daville or let's say, Richie Stephens, that would surprise me - I wouldn't believe most of what them singing.

I expect the ones with rough images to get into trouble, otherwise I wouldn't rate them. Dem sing bout badness, badman mus get in trouble wid police. You can't have 10 songs bout yu buss gun and have di cleanest criminal record ever. I lose respect for artistes who commit rape, sexual abuse, assaulting a female. I expect certain artistes to be charged with illegal possession of weapons, weed or ammunition," he said.