BY BRIAN BONITTO
Associate Editor —The Observer—
Elephant Man—
ELEPHANT Man’s bail was extended to March 7, 2021 when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court in Half-Way-Tree yesterday. The dancehall deejay is charged for allegedly making false declarations after arriving in the island in March 2020.
His attorney, Christopher Townsend of Corporate Area-headquartered TWP Attorneys-at-law, said the prosecution has committed to handing over video footage of the entertainer’s March 2020 arrival at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
“The authorities say that they now have the tape of what occurred in the immigration hall, so the tape has now turned up. They will be making it available to us before that day [March 7], so the judge set that day to ensure all disclosure has occurred,” Townsend told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
The attorney said while his client is cognizant of the court process, he is a bit suspicious of the delay in the videotape being turned over.
“Elephant Man is law-abiding and committed to the process. He understands this is the process of the court and it is done in a timely fashion, especially since the COVID restrictions and implications [are now impacting factors]. Therefore, he’s not perturbed by the time, that it is taking too much,” said Townsend.
“What he is concerned about is the fact that it took so long and the implications of that. This thing should not have taken so long to obtain, so you become a bit suspicious when [there is] something [like this] that is at the hand of the prosecutor. You may then question the reasons they took so long to give it to you and you want to know why, as it may affect the authenticity of the document you receive. That was primarily his concern…especially, when he has had situations before when persons used his image to place him somewhere else and then you see another video evidence appearing with somebody else…We are fully aware that his image has been manipulated in the past and so, we are concerned about the authenticity. Because it took so long we are a little bit concerned as to why. There was nothing offered as to why,” he continued.
The attorney was referring to a February 1, 2019 incident when a video image surfaced with a female handing over a hand gun to a person bearing a striking resemblance to the entertainer. Hours later another video was in the public domain with the female handing the firearm to another man. Elephant Man was subsequently interviewed by the Constant Spring Police in Kingston before being released without charge.
According to a police report, Elephant Man (given name Oneal Bryan) arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport in March 2020, along with members of his team, and was asked to declare the countries he visited.
Elephant Man was reportedly on tour in Europe but did not declare all the countries he was in, which is an immigration requirement. At the time, the Jamaican Government had put in place safety measures at ports should persons who travelled outside the country contract COVID-19.
The dancehall deejay subsequently issued a video apologizing for what he called a “misunderstanding” at the airport.
A former member of the Scare Dem Crew, Elephant Man is known for songs such as Willie Bounce, Nuh Linga, Pon Di River and Signal The Plane.
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