As veteran dancehall act Mad Cobra prepares for the legal fight ahead as he faces gun and cocaine charges, South Carolina-based attorney Dayne Phillips says the artiste is facing a minimum sentence of 25 years.
“The mandatory minimum on the trafficking charge is 25 years, so if convicted, the lowest sentence would be 25 years and the highest would be 30 years, if convicted as charged,” said Phillips.
Mad Cobra, whose given name is Ewart Brown, was arrested on Tuesday by deputies in Florence County in South Carolina. According to the cops, the 55-year-old was driving a black BMW SUV when he was stopped for speeding. After searching the vehicle, two kilos of cocaine and a Beretta 9mm pistol were found.
Brown’s bond was posted later that day at US$125,000, approximately J$19 million. Phillips commented on the bond’s amount.
He explained, “It is high but it’s not completely unusual given the amount because potentially he’s charged with trafficking cocaine, 400 grams or more. And so because it carries 25 to 30 years, it’s not completely unusual but it is a high bond.”
“I would imagine that a lot of the bond is based on him living in Florida. Obviously, he has ties to Jamaica, with him not being a resident. I believe that, plus the fact that charge carries 25 to 30 years is why the bond court judge set such an extremely high bond,” he added.
Phillips said that while he is not aware of any specific conditions for the deejay’s bail, in these cases, stipulations are often put in place.
“I didn’t see anything in the reports. There may be special conditions of bond, but I haven’t personally seen anything listed in the reports. They could have potentially put a GPS monitor [on him] or [placed him in] house detention but I don’t know,” he explained.
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