Jamaican dancehall entertainer Brigadier Jerry has been slapped with a battery of gun-related charges in the United States, but the incident may have been triggered by a prank gone wrong, his wife has said.

The 62-year-old singer, whose real name is Robert Russell, has been charged with illegal discharge of a firearm, first-degree robbery, first-degree reckless endangerment, carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal transfer of a pistol, and altering a serial number on a firearm.

He has been held on a US$250,000 bond, stemming from a November 11 incident in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA.

Russell will return to the Waterbury Superior Court, 400 Grand Street, on November 27.