Dancehall artiste Tommy Lee Sparta pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition and was sentenced to three years in prison.

The ‘Blessings’ artiste appeared before the High Court Division of the Gun Court and was represented by Queens Counsel Tom Tavares Finson and Donahue Martin.

He received a three-year sentence for the illegal possession of a firearm charge, and a two-year sentence on the ammunition charge. The sentences will run concurrently.

The sentencing guidelines for illegal possession of firearm charges typically run between 10 to 15 years. However, a number of mitigating factors worked in Tommy Lee Sparta’s favour.

“The mitigating factors were that he pleaded guilty on the first relevant court date, he had already served three months for the offence and he has no previous convictions,” attorney-at-law Donahue Martin told one876entertainment.com

The defence team had entered into negotiations with the Crown and the Director of Public Prosecutions under the Plea Negotiations and Agreement Act and “the recommended sentence after the lengthy negotiations was three years” which the judge accepted.

The plea bargaining which has led to a number of reduced sentences for non-capital offences is facilitated under the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act and the Indictments (Amendment) Act which has sought to reduce the backlog of cases in the courts.

But under the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act, it entitles the individual up to a 50 per cent reduction in sentence if they plead guilty on the first relevant date of the trial.