Veteran dancehall entertainer, Ninjaman, was convicted on circumstantial evidence in the Home Circuit Court on Monday, according to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Paula Llewellyn at the end of the in-camera trial
The DPP, who talked with reporters, including Loop News’ Job Nelson, at her office after the trial, said the entertainer, christened Desmond Ballentine, as well as his co-accused son, Janiel, and Dennis Clayton, were not seen pulling the trigger of the gun that killed Ricardo Johnson in 2009.
However, she said evidence given at the trial, pointed to the three men committing the act as a result of a domestic feud that started the previous day.
Llewelyn said that the individuals who were involved, including the deceased, the main crown witness and the now convicted men, were all friends before the shooting.
According to Llewellyn, the feud started on March 16 with a domestic dispute on Marl Road in Olympic Gardens, St Andrew. She said the feud reportedly involved two tenants, Johnson and an elderly woman, at a premises which Llewelyn did not disclose.
In the evidence given at the trial, the elderly woman called her granddaughter to help to quell the later afternoon dispute, and the granddaughter in turn called her boyfriend, Clayton, who is also the father of her children.
The latter allegedly went to the premises and got into an argument with Johnson and the owner of the property, whom Llewellyn called ‘Witness A’, because he is on the Witness Protection Programme. Witness A agreed with Johnson in the dispute.
According to the evidence, Clayton and Johnson eventually got into a fist fight, which Clayton won, but he returned about 8:00 a.m. on March 17 with other men, and was then armed with a machete. During that round of the fuss, stones were also thrown.
Llewellyn said the evidence given was that after another bout of arguing, during which the younger Ballentine drove up and stopped at Johnson’s gate and made threatening remarks at him and Witness A, both Johnson and Witness A walked away from the fuss.
But later the same morning, Witness A went to visit Johnson and the same car was driven to the scene, this time with Clayton, Janiel and Ninjaman, who, after exiting the vehicle, threatened both men, as well as a relative of Johnson, who intervened. The Ballentines and Clayton later left the scene.
But about 11:30 in the morning, Clayton returned with another group of men, who were armed with boards and bats. They approached Witness A and Johnson, who both ran in different directions.
While retreating, the evidence was that Witness A encountered Ninjaman, who had a gun in hand that he used to fire at Witness A, who ran to the back of Johnson’s house, where he saw the now deceased man, and both ran through a hole in the fence of the property.
According to the evidence, Witness A, after covering some distance, looked back and saw Johnson pushing the fence back in an effort to prevent others from coming through the hole. Johnson also had a machete that he was using to chop at the fence in a bid to ward off the attackers.
Witness A testified of then hearing a loud explosion coming from the other side of the fence, and saw what appeared to be blood coming from Johnson’s side, with him shouting that he had been shot.
Witness A then saw Clayton looking over the fence briefly before Johnson fell and died at the spot.
Llewellyn said a relative of Johnson also gave evidence that she saw both Ballentines jumping over the gate of the premises with guns.
The DPP said Clayton was placed at the crime scene by Witness A. She said voice recognition was also used to identify the younger Ballentine. This came from a witness who went to school and grew up with him. She said that witness was inside the house while everything was taking place.
“So the crown asked the court and the jury, using the concept of common design, to infer that these three men were acting together in a common design, which was aimed at using the guns to cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Ricardo Johnson,” Llewelyn indicated.
According to the DPP, her team of Kathy Pike and Nicholas Edmonds fought a hard battle, as the defence team put up a tough challenge in an effort to free their clients.
“As an experienced prosecutor, remember our role is to present the best possible case. It was a hard case. It was a difficult case. Circumstantial evidence cases are difficult to prove. There were critical issues of law that the crown had to make sure that they did their research, to be able to convince the court, especially in the case of Dennis Clayton, who was always armed with a machete,” outlined Llewelyn.
Queen’s Counsel Valerie Neita-Robertson represented Ninjaman, with Gladstone Wilson appearing for Clayton and Linton Walters for Janiel. All the lead defence attorneys declined to comment after the verdict was given.
The jury found Ninjaman guilty of shooting with intent and murder. Janiel and Clayton were found guilty of murder.
All three are to be sentenced on December 15.
God nah sleep Metty.
Ninja kill Georgia pickney fi true.
Him and him son Rockapee but a Rockapee shoot Ricardo Ninja gi him di gun.
Georgia yuh son cawn come bak but at least yuh get justice mi girl.
So….ninja man a go rub prison sentence because a ole woman call her grand-daughter to quash a dispute (granny, blood pon you too!). Grandgyal call her bad breed babydaddy, and him come with weapon and company, not once, but 3xs!
I going to say it over and over…MANY of our fatal disputes in Jamaica have a woman at the center of them.
Ninja Man, such a simple one… finally got you caught 😀 😀
Thank you MET now i really read and understand why he was found guilty . Ninja your a grown man so you have to lie in this bed you made for your self .
Just a side note, Jamaica is such a small island and everyone know den.one another and we’ll faaassss, I sure do.hope system can protect those who are brave enough to testify.
System more than can protect who want protection or relocation.
Stop thinking in this manner because it’s a propaganda that as kept OUR people from standing for what is their rights and for what is right.
So your saying because the person testify harm should come to them ? Read the details above Ninja could have walk away from this conflict ‘ you read how many times them go hunt the man that dead Murasaki cut the bullshit Ninja has to pay the price and hold him sentence like a real bad man . By this way this about Ninja 3 murder him buy out the first one 3 strikes and your out Ninja kill before that’s why him think this time he could intimidate the witness those days are for Jamaica. Wait till the ninds reach y’all if unuu shit America knows!
Smh, I really hope it was worth it. Him fight the man and win but still couldnt let the situation go now u will live in prison. Damn idiot. And why Ninja guh mek dem draw him inna it. Granny shoulda know better she shoulda let it go.
Thank God justice finally serve… Rockapee a kill ppl long time a suh in a one election him go over PEN go kill the woman and are man the ppl dem finally get justice fi that killing.. Marl rd ppl dem tired a dem and the f**kery that dem keep up when Ian dead marl ppl celebrate…
If u don’t Rockapee he is a killer him kill nuff he is one of Rat bat gang contract killers use to roll wid the deadly Duxie and Niejah from omar rd a Niejah dem seh did kill de woman in half tree plaza. Omar rd people can’t wait fi him dead. Dem three youth commit numerous murder over KGN and St Andrew
So base of a wha De witness dem a say. Dem never see the person aim, and point dem gun at the victim. Dem did over the next side a the zinc fence.so basically the wickedness just hear a shot jump off.so how witness know a who fire De shot? Bearing in mind dat one witness say dem see ninja and him son teck De wall, and both had guns . easy case this did fe buss if dem lawyer did have sense.if u caah prove who pull De trigger then u no have no case.
common design Kgn13 common design- means what u say doesnt matter
So you saying after ninja and him son jump de gate wid dem gun IN HAND one a dem “lend” dem gun to de next man (the one who peeped over the fence). Hope you didn’t forget that ninja man made threaten remarks when he pulled up earlier.
So out of the 2, father and son, lend the 3rd dem gun during the height of the chase? :ngakak :ngakak
Neita NO dat damn good! She have a spiritual beating fi get too.
If a merikkka him ass get more time fi conspiracy or association…just something for you to think about if you want to talk negative about Jamaica :ngakak
Next up – Tommy Lee for alleged scamming activities and Munga for murder.
So all this happened because 2 Jezebels (the granny & grand daughter) just could let things go & called men with longstanding criminal intent who are incapable of thinking? Smh.
Ninja has had too many chances in life for me to waste my pity on him, but he sure has messed his son up. A father should set a son straight when he’s going down that path, but not Ninja, he led the path.
THANK YOU!!! Nobody is even talking about the fact that he messed up his son’s life, he is a lousy father, shame on him.
Dem seh a nuff tings him gwan wid a marl road doe.. nuff killing an tings.
Just serve the lord. He will do his best for u.
only ting me waan do is publish witness A name as i did weeee which is david chow the same witness A in vybz kartel case. none dem no testify tru dem waan talk the truth….dem testify tru sweets….dem need foreign opportunity. me a fe wonder if some of these pussys no care bout dem families when dem a do informa work….or dem just no have no family and was raised by the state. me soon post the full name….look out
F**ka them , I hope they are raped and rot in Prison.
So when you post the witnesses’ full name what? Some other jackass going to kill their innocent family members and either end up like Ninja and co, or worse, lose their own life and endanger their families’ lives too? You fools so brainwashed the only logic you can see is down the barrel of a gun. I hope you get shot down by your own criminal friends that you’re so loyal to and nobody nuh si nothing! F**king coward. You want to stand up for something, stand up for truth, rights and justice.