Dancehall artiste Skeng is now a free man. A judge dismissed disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges against the ‘Protocol’ deejay after attorney-at-law Christopher Townsend argued for the case to be dismissed.

When the case was mentioned after 2 pm Thursday in the case management court, Townsend contended the case had vegetated for too long “without proper disclosure” and that was in and of itself, an “abuse of process”.

Justice Leighton Morris agreed with Townsend’s arguments and dismissed the matter.

Earlier in the day, there had been an administrative mix-up as the deejay’s case, which should have been heard in case management court, was actually listed in the Corporate Area criminal court. When Skeng did not appear, a bench warrant was issued for the deejay’s arrest.

When Skeng turned up at 2 pm for his case management appearance, the bench warrant was vacated and the jurisdiction of the case was passed to case management court.

The artiste, whose real name is Kevan Douglas, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in relation to an incident at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston last year.

He was jointly charged with Shaquille Kelly and Cara Wilson.

Police reported at that Skeng was involved in a confrontation with officials at NMIA about 1:50 pm in May 2022. During the incident, he was allegedly pepper sprayed by the police. He was attempting to board a flight to Trinidad, where he was the headliner of an event.

He was subsequently charged, but allowed to leave the island.

– Claude Mills