Veteran Dancehall Ninja Man trial set for April 2015

ENTERTAINER Ninja Man, his son, and two other men will now have to wait until April 13, 2015 to be tried in Kingston’s Home Circuit Court for murder.

The date was set when they appeared in court yesterday.

The artiste, whose real name is Desmond Ballentyne, and son Janiel, are to be tried along with Seymour Samuels and Dennis Clayton.

The four are facing the court for the March 16, 2009 gun murder of Richard Johnson in the Mall Road area of St Andrew.

Ninja Man in April failed to have the case against him thrown out.

Queen’s Counsel KD Knight applied to have the matter adjourned sine die or stayed on the grounds that the entertainer’s constitutional rights have been breached because of the length of time it has taken to have the case tried.

The matter has been before the court since 2009, the court was told.

But in his refusal of the application, Justice Lloyd Hibbert said that the criminal court was not the proper forum for an application seeking constitutional redress to be heard.

Attorney Valerie Neita-Robertson also appeared for the entertainer.

The artiste’s son is being represented by Gladstone Wilson and Linton Walters appeared for Clayton.

source: jamaica observer