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Yvonne 'Lena British' Reid, one of the promoters of the British Link-Up show held recently in Portmore, St. Catherine, was yesterday fined $80,000 or six months for breaching the Noise Abatement Act.
Reid, of Marley Court, St. Andrew, was fined by Resident Magistrate Lorna Errar-Gayle in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court, for the March 23 incident where a 47-year-old man was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire between patrons at the show.
While Reid was fined, the person who was originally brought to court in relation to the staging of the event, Courtney Sergeant, had the case against him withdrawn. The Crown could not find any connection between him and the event and why he was summoned in the first place. Reid was later brought to court and was subsequently fined.
Music at 2:00 a.m.
Her conviction came as a result of the promoters breaching the Noise Abatement Act, which states that persons holding dances and other such events must cease playing the music at 2:00 a.m., and for defying the order of the police who had demanded that the sound system be turned off earlier. In fact, the dance proceeded until approximately 8:30 Sunday morning when the shooting, which also left six persons injured, started.
After announcing the fine, the judge told the police that they need to take a stand and be firm when they go on a scene to enforce the act. She said that if this was done on March 23, there would not have been any bloodletting or loss of life.
Meanwhile, attorney-at-law Earl Hamilton, who appeared for Reid, told the court his client was only a co-ordinator of the event and asked that the court lessen her fine. The RM however would have none of it and instead Reid was given $40,000 bail in her own surety and granted two weeks in which to pay the fine.
Reid, of Marley Court, St. Andrew, was fined by Resident Magistrate Lorna Errar-Gayle in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court, for the March 23 incident where a 47-year-old man was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire between patrons at the show.
While Reid was fined, the person who was originally brought to court in relation to the staging of the event, Courtney Sergeant, had the case against him withdrawn. The Crown could not find any connection between him and the event and why he was summoned in the first place. Reid was later brought to court and was subsequently fined.
Music at 2:00 a.m.
Her conviction came as a result of the promoters breaching the Noise Abatement Act, which states that persons holding dances and other such events must cease playing the music at 2:00 a.m., and for defying the order of the police who had demanded that the sound system be turned off earlier. In fact, the dance proceeded until approximately 8:30 Sunday morning when the shooting, which also left six persons injured, started.
After announcing the fine, the judge told the police that they need to take a stand and be firm when they go on a scene to enforce the act. She said that if this was done on March 23, there would not have been any bloodletting or loss of life.
Meanwhile, attorney-at-law Earl Hamilton, who appeared for Reid, told the court his client was only a co-ordinator of the event and asked that the court lessen her fine. The RM however would have none of it and instead Reid was given $40,000 bail in her own surety and granted two weeks in which to pay the fine.
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