Ninja Man murder appeal delayed to March 2026

The long-awaited appeal hearing for entertainer Desmond 'Ninja Man' Ballentyne and his two co-convicts has been postponed as legal representation for one of the men is sorted.

The case is now provisionally set to be heard during the week of March 23 next year.

Oral arguments were scheduled to run for a week, starting today.

The case has been affected by representation issues for co-convict Dennis Clayton, whose original attorney fell ill. His latest attorney was only retained just days before the appeal was due to be heard, leaving limited time to review what has been described as a voluminous case file. One of the central issues to be argued on appeal is visual identification.

Veteran attorney Valerie Neita Robertson, KC, who had represented Ninja Man, died in February. Attorney Robert Fletcher now represents the entertainer.

King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie, who represents Ninja Man’s son, Janeil, said he was ready to proceed but acknowledged the legal realities surrounding multi-accused appeals.

“Like all matters that are before the court involving co-accused or co-appellants, the matter cannot be heard disjointedly,” Champagnie told The Gleaner on Monday. “It’s a setback, but it is something that is understandable.”

Ninja Man, his son Janeil, and Clayton were sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for for the 2009 murder of Ricardo Johnson, a man from Kingston.

The sentences were handed down by Justice Martin Gayle in the Home Circuit Court in December 2017, following the trio’s conviction in November that year for murder and shooting with intent.

Prosecutors led evidence that the killing stemmed from a domestic altercation in the St Andrew community of Lower Mall Road.

According to the prosecution, a day after the altercation, Ninja Man, his son, and Clayton reportedly returned with guns and other weapons, chased Johnson and another witness through a fence, and as Johnson attempted to fend off the attackers, shots were fired, hitting him in the side.

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