Jamaican dancehall artiste ‘Squash’ sentenced to 27 months in U.S. federal prison for firearm offences

United States: Jamaican dancehall artiste Andrae 'Squash' Whittaker has been sentenced to 2 years and three months in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and being an unlawful citizen to the United States. The dancehall sensation known for hits such as Big Breeze and Shub Out appeared before judge Roy Altman in Miami’s federal court this week after the authorities arrested him in Miami, Florida sometime in February.

This comes after the officials pulled him over for questioning and found an unlicensed firearm in the vehicle he was driving. Officials reported that the unlicensed firearm was found to have been a pink glock pistol modified with a switch commonly known to Jamaicans as a “chip glock.”

Soon after the discovery, Squash was transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit where he entered a plea agreement and admitted to the wrongful possession of the firearm and to being an undocumented immigrant in the United States, originally from Salt Spring in Montego Bay.

The dancehall artist had reportedly migrated to the US from Jamaica years ago, and had been living in the country without proper documentation along with his father.

The 30 minute hearing and sentencing brought months of legal proceedings to an end with Squash set to serve 2 years and three months in prison, although Jacob Koffsky, a prosecutor in the case, sought for the artist to be given a maximum sentence of 30 months instead of the 27 months given by the judge.

After Koffsky presented before the judge videos in Squash’s phone that featured him handling multiple shooting firearms

During the judicial process Squash was similarly accused of being a leader of an organised criminal gang, claims that his legal team strongly rejected. Squash was remanded to the custody of US Marshals, as he is due to begin serving his sentence from Monday November 24, 2025 and following his release, he is due to be deported. Meanwhile, his father is still in the custody of ICE.