Entertainer Buju Banton, who has been in a Florida jail awaiting trial on drug charges since last December, will have to wait a bit longer to know his fate.
The trial was again rescheduled on Friday, this time to September.
According to the Tampa Tribune newspaper, district judge James Moody moved the trial without giving a reason. The new development reportedly angered Banton's attorney David Markus who argued that the latest date change is costly for the defence which will have to re-arrange travel plans for witnesses.
Markus also said the date change violates the Speedy Trial Act which requires a defendant's trial to start within 70 days of them being arrested.
This is the third time the trial has been rescheduled. It was originally set for April 19 but two weeks before the start, Moody set it back to June 21.
Banton has been incarcerated since his arrest by Federal agents in Miami on December 10. He and two other men were charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, and face lengthy prison sentences.
The entertainer and his attorney have challenged the agents' story, saying he was set up.
source: jamaica-gleaner.com
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