MONTEGO BAY, St James — Dancehall artiste Mavado was yesterday charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and malicious destruction of property after he surrendered himself to the Freeport police in the company of attorney-at-law Martyn Thomas.

He is out on bail.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Mavado, whose real name is David Brooks, arrived at the police station approximately 2:45 pm and left about 5:30 pm, during which time the lawyer said the artiste “was asked a few questions and charged”.

Thomas, the Montego Bay-based attorney who was appearing with Mavado for the purpose of bail, told reporters outside the police station that he could not speak to the amount for the bail bond but said it “was in a reasonable sum”.

He said Mavado, who is charged in connection with the attack on a man and his teenage son in the Belmont area of St James on Friday night, was “actually surprised that (the incident) reached this level” and was anxious to give his version of the incident when he appears in court on August 10.

The lawyer said Mavado heard he was wanted by the police and surrendered. “He is anxious to go before the court and when he goes there, his lawyer Christopher Tavares-Finson and himself will have a lot to say about the incident but allegations were made and he will be there to defend it,” said the lawyer.

Asked why it took so long for the dancehall artiste to surrender himself to the police, Thomas said “because of his understanding of the situation he was actually surprised that it reached this level and when he saw his name paraded in the newspapers he realised how serious it was…”

Yesterday’s process, Thomas said, took longer than usual as “the police were making sure they did thorough investigations and asked all questions necessary”.

Meanwhile, an associate of Mavado, who was held during a sting operation by the police on Tuesday, is still to be charged and remained in police custody last night. His attorney Morell Beckford told the Observer that a question and answer session is to be done today after which a decision would be made if he were to be charged or released.

The associate was held in connection with the alleged bribery of one of the men who was said to be injured during the attack by members of the deejay’s entourage.

The man, who was allegedly paying over money to the complainant in an effort to bribe him to drop the case, was reportedly held in the busy parking lot at the Fairview Shopping Centre.

The complainant, according to the police, parked his car along a section of Belmont Road Friday night about 7:00 when Mavado and members of his entourage drove up. It has been alleged that in an effort to avoid potholes in the road, the deejay reportedly asked that the man drive his vehicle further down the road to allow them to pass.

The man refused and members of Mavado’s entourage emerged from the vehicle and allegedly attacked the man and his son with a machete. The man reportedly received injuries all over his body, while several of his son’s teeth were knocked out.