TAMPA - A judge Wednesday set new bail conditions for
Buju Banton, but it's not certain the reggae star would be released before his retrial on cocaine conspiracy charges in December.
The new conditions include a $300,000 bond secured by the Miami-Dade County home of Stephen Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley.
A security company also must put up a separate $25,000 bond, keep Banton on around-the-clock house arrest at his condominium in Tamarac, fit him with a GPS monitor and install new locks and an alarm system at his home. Banton would not get the keys or the alarm code. U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli said Banton might not make bail before trial. That's because prosecutors plan to
appeal the bail conditions, and an immigration judge still would have to
consider whether to lift a hold on the native of Jamaica.
Banton, 37, is charged with trying to buy 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds, of cocaine. His first trial ended in a mistrial in September.