Jailed reggae star Buju Banton wants new trial

Mug shot of Buju Banton.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jailed reggae star Buju Banton wants a new trial in U.S. federal court.

Last month, the federal appeals court in Atlanta upheld the Jamaican singer's 2011 conviction on cocaine conspiracy and trafficking charges. The three-judge panel also sided with a Tampa jury's conviction of Banton on a gun possession charge, which the trial judge tossed at his sentencing.

Banton's attorney, David O. Markus, filed a motion Monday in Tampa federal court seeking a new trial on all the charges, or least on the gun charge alone.

Banton is serving a 10-year prison sentence. The gun charge carries an additional five-year sentence.

The U.S. government filed on Tuesday a motion to strike down Banton's request for another trial.

Banton's first trial in 2010 ended in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked.

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