Ninja Man, Et Al: Voice Recognition Vs Identification

The Court of Appeals review of the lower court's life sentencing of Desmond ‘Nanja Man’ Ballentine, his son Janiel Ballentine and Dennis Clayton continued today in downtown Kingston.

 

 Questions of voice recognition and identification were assessed.

After an 8-year delay, Ballentine, his son Janiel, and Dennis Clayton were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2009 shooting of Ricardo Brown. But how does the identification of just a voice come into play for this ruling? The trial continues.

 

 

 

 

The prosecution recalled the witness's testimony, saying they were very familiar with the Ballentine men. From spring break vacations together to discussing events to visits to their home from the Valentine father and son multiple times per week over a 3 to 5 year period.

 

According to Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Kathy Anne Pyke, evidence was presented that on the night of the altercation in question, all the alleged assailants arrived at the scene at the same time.

 

Pyke quotes the first witness saying that he saw Clayton and two men first with a bat and stones in their hand, after which he saw the Ballentines.

 

According to the testimony, the first thing the now deceased Ricardo Brown said to the witness after they heard gunfire was ‘Mi get shot’.

 

The prosecution quoted, "It's not a coincidence that men walked in with metal bats. He was a part of the plan with Ninja Man to attack the yard." The witness said he heard threats to kill.”

 

 She also says the retrieval or use of a gun for the purpose of affecting threats was also contemplated, adding that phrases such as ‘Mi a go use mi gun’ and ‘Mi ah go shoot’ were very prevalent in the next witness's testimony.

 

The next witness says she was inside doing her hair in the yard in which the altercation took place when she heard gunshots at the side of the yard going to the back. On the night of the altercation, she says she heard a voice that evinced an intention to kill.

 

The witness identified this voice as Janiel Ballentine. She quotes ‘him seh Ricky’, the now deceased, ‘You and the previous witness fi dead’.

 

After she heard shots, the witness says she heard the previous witness crying at the back and saw him holding up Brown. She allegedly found Brown wounded.

 

The witnesses allegedly said it was at this time they found Dennis Clayton looking at them from behind the fence.

 

 It was also pointed out that this does not mean that Clayton was the one who fired the shots as the ballistic evidence also did not identify who held the firearm at the time, adding that no substitution of proof is permitted.