A relative of rapper Jamaal “Shyne” Barrow has revealed that the rapper will live and work out of Europe, should he be denied entry into the United States.
Shyne was released from prison on October 6 but is being held by immigration officials, who could deport the rapper to his homeland of Belize.
Shyne served eight years in prison for his role in a high profile shooting inside a New York nightclub in December 1997, involving Sean “Diddy” Combs and his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez.
An argument broke out between Combs and a New York figure named Matthew “Scar” Allen. In the ensuing fracas, three people were shot.
Shyne was eventually convicted of two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession.
He was sentenced to the lengthy prison term after a controversial trial which saw Combs acquitted of weapon possession and bribery charges. Belizean Parliament member Michael Finnegan is also Shyne’s uncle and member of the cabinet controlled by Shyne’s father, Prime Minister Dean Barrow.
He told the Belizean that Shyne’s fate now rests in the hands of Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, a close confidant of President Obama.
“All the lawyers who were dealing with his immigration problems, they are totally off the case now,” Finnegan told The Belizean. “The matter is placed squarely in the hands of Professor Ogletree. All legal options or legal directions or whatever the case may be in terms of legal movements, these are now in the hands of Professor Ogletree.”
Prime Minister Barrow wrote a letter to New York Governor David Paterson last week on the advice of Ogletree, requesting a pardon for Shyne and permission for the rapper to be allowed to stay in the United States, despite strict post 9-11 rules on convicted felons legally or illegally living in the country.
“If he [Shyne] has to land here and stay for a little while, it will not be long before he uses Europe to work out from. He will go and live in a European country,” Finnegan added.
