Dancehall artist Squash reaches plea deal in US gun case

Dancehall artist Squash will avoid going to trial on federal gun charges in the United States after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

The entertainer, whose given name is Andrae Maurice Whittaker, and his defence attorneys have indicated that he intends to plead guilty on September 3. Squash had been facing charges of being an alien in possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a machine gun.

The charges stemmed from a February traffic stop in which police seized two Glock pistols and several magazines loaded with ammunition. His attorneys had been preparing for trial, filing a motion to have evidence in the case suppressed on the grounds of an illegal search.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors had moved to introduce additional video and text evidence obtained from Squash’s phone, as well as evidence from his music, at trial. The court was set to rule on that matter on Tuesday, but in a dramatic turn on Monday, the hearing was cancelled after attorneys confirmed Squash’s intention to change his plea.

The jury trial, which was scheduled to begin on September 2, has also been cancelled. Squash had until August 26 to plead guilty or face the possibility of going to trial. If convicted, the St James native faced up to 10 years in prison on each count, or a mandatory minimum of 15 years per charge if he had three or more prior convictions.