WESTERN BUREAU — Dancehall deejay, Michael Sterling, better known as “Alozade”, has managed to hammer out a payment plan to pay off $140,000 in damages to the Montego Bay constable he was convicted of assaulting just over a year ago.

The young deejay had already paid $48,000 of the sum and starting May 1 he will make monthly payments of $18,000 to Constable Ronald Reid until the debt has been cleared.

The payment schedule was outlined at the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Alozade was slapped with a civil suit after he assaulted Constable Reid inside a Montego Bay courtroom on September 27, 2001.

He was appearing before Resident Magistrate Paulette Williams for using indecent language during his performance at the August staging of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest.

During his court appearance, the young deejay was cited with contempt of court after being disrespectful to the RM; and things took a turn for the worse when Constable Reid tried to escort him from the courtroom.

Alozade, offended at being restrained by his pants waist, lost control and smacked the cop.

A fracas ensued as other lawmen rushed to restrain the performer.

Constables Reid and Steve Dempster were later taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital while Constable Gilmore Jarrett’s cellular phone was destroyed.

Alozade was subsequently slapped with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, malicious destruction of property and using indecent language. He pleaded guilty to the charges and on October 2, 2001 he was sentenced to nine months in jail plus a $16,000 fine.

In addition, Constable Reid brought a civil suit against him to compensate for “aggravated damages”.

But with Alozade failing to pay up, in accordance with a May 14, 2002 order, attorney Morrell Beckford filed a judgement summons on his client’s behalf, in an attempt to recover the money.

The two parties went before the court on March 3 but were unable to come to an agreement on a payment plan and as a result RM Carolyn Tie ordered them to return to court on March 19 when, unless they had come to an agreement, the court would decide how the money was to be paid.

On Wednesday there was no need for the court’s intervention save to serve as facilitator. But the lawman’s attorney told the Observer that neither he nor his client was particularly satisfied with the agreement.

“It’s not an agreement I would have hoped for. But it is one my client is prepared to accept, given the stated decline in Mr Sterling’s fortune… Mr Sterling has stated that there’s been a decline in his earnings since his incarceration,” Beckford said Thursday afternoon.

Added the attorney: “We are not entirely happy about it but we are prepared to accept it. Once he keeps up with the payments there should be no problems.”