Shab Don gets an early New Year trial date for his murder case.

The dancehall producer, whose real name is Linval Thompson Jr., and his co-defendant, Tajay Clark, were back in court on Wednesday for a hearing. High Court Justice Judith Pusey remanded the two men in custody and set their trial date for February 19, 2025. Shab Don and Clark were arrested in 2022 and charged in connection to a triple murder in Rose Heights, Montego Bay.

Law enforcement officials say the three victims were among persons standing along Marl Road in Rose Heights around 9:30 p.m. on May 25, 2022, when a group of gunmen pulled up in a Toyota Allion motor car and started shooting.

The three victims have been identified as 24-year-old Chamario ‘Chippy’ Calvin, 26-year-old Toniann ‘Too Fly’ Reid, and 27-year-old Chadwell Frazer, otherwise called ‘Bomb Brain,’ all of a Rose Heights, St. James address. Two other persons were injured in the shooting incident.

Thompson Jr was arrested a week later in a joint police and military operation by the Anti-Gang Task Force (JAGTF) in the St. Catherine South police division. The music producer has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Shab Don is being represented by attorney Donahue Martin and King’s Counsel Tom Tavares-Finson, while his co-accused Tajay Clark is being represented by Khadine Coleman.

During Wednesday’s court hearing, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) told the judge that a vital witness for the prosecution is behind bars overseas and thus the trial could not move forward. Prosecutors says the DPP’s office wants more time and is making arrangements for the incarcerated witness to give evidence.

Shab Don’s attorney Tavares-Finson pushed back saying the witness is unlikely to give testimony in the trial. “This is not the first time the court was being told this,” Tavares-Finson said. “In fact, the witness in question is in jail in Florida on a murder charge and is very unlikely to be available as a witness in this matter.”

Shab Don was previously facing a $2 million bribery and gun charges for a separate incident, but those charges have since been dismissed after his co-accused Romario “BMR” Scott pleaded guilty to the charge and sentenced to six years in prison.