Dancehall star Squash jailed in Miami on gun conviction

Dancehall artiste Andrae 'Squash' Whittaker was today slapped with a two-year and three-month prison sentence in a Miami federal court after he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while living in the United States illegally.

Squash, who hails from Salt Spring in Montego Bay, was arrested earlier this year during a police stop in Miami, where officers reportedly recovered a firearm from the vehicle he was travelling in. According to investigators, the weapon was fitted with a switch, commonly referred to in Jamaica as a "chip glock".

The entertainer was later handed over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and eventually entered a plea agreement admitting to the firearm offence as an undocumented immigrant.

During the proceedings, his attorneys strongly rejected claims that he was the leader of an organised criminal gang, a label that surfaced at one point in the case.

Today's sentencing wraps up months of legal trouble that have shadowed Squash since his February arrest. The Shub Out and Big Breeze hitmaker has been living in the US for several years without proper immigration status.

With the ruling now handed down, he will begin serving his sentence in federal custody and is expected to face immigration action once his prison term ends.

His father, who is also in the United States, is reportedly in ICE custody as well.

- Andew Williams

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