A witness told the Supreme Court that he saw a man accused of murder deliver a “home-run swing” with a gardening hoe to the victim’s face after an argument about sport escalated.

Dion Ball Jr said that in the aftermath of the attack, he had pursued the attacker with a wooden bat out of anger and in an effort to prevent him from leaving the area.

Ajamu Hollis has denied killing Daemon Bell, a 49-year-old corrections officer, at Shelly Bay Park in Hamilton Parish on February 2, 2022.

Prosecutors say that Mr Bell was struck in the face with a gardening hoe after he was caught in the middle of an argument between Mr Ball and Mr Hollis.

Mr Bell was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital but died of his injuries later that day.

As the trial continued yesterday, Mr Ball, the victim’s brother-in-law, said that on the afternoon of the incident they had gone to Shelly Bay to socialise.

After an hour, at about 3.15pm, he said they were discussing sport when he saw Mr Hollis, whom Mr Ball knew as “Pumpkin”, approach them on his motorcycle.

He said that Mr Hollis asked the members of the group if they had $2, which they denied, before he injected himself into the conversation and called Mr Ball a “f***ing dummy”.

Mr Ball said he told Mr Hollis he did not know him well enough to say that and the argument escalated.

He told the court that Mr Hollis opened the seat of his motorcycle and began to throw items at Mr Ball.

“The first thing he threw was a paintbrush,” Mr Ball said. “He threw it like you would chuck a cricket ball.”

He said Hollis threw several items at him, including a spanner and socket wrench, none of which struck him, until one landed at his feet.

“I picked it up, and I started to walk towards Pumpkin because I felt like my life was being threatened,” he said. “I got about halfway towards Pumpkin.

“Daemon Bell got out of the car and asked Pumpkin what he was doing. That’s when Pumpkin turned around and said: ‘Are you guys going to jump me?’”

Mr Ball told the court that Mr Hollis put on his helmet, got on his bike and began to ride away, but stopped near the junction with the main road and said: “I’m coming right back.”

He told the court that about a minute later, Mr Hollis returned on his bike and began to walk towards them.

Mr Ball said that Mr Bell began to approach him to “defuse” the situation, but Mr Hollis struck him on the top of the head with the handle of a garden hoe.

“Daemon Bell stumbled from the corner of the fence to the flat area by the wooden railing,” Mr Ball said.

He said that Mr Hollis followed Mr Bell and struck him in the face with the corner of the tool where the handle meets the metal.

While he said the first blow with the handle was a “tap”, Mr Ball described the second blow as “like hitting a home run playing baseball”.

Mr Ball said Mr Hollis dropped the tool and then he grabbed Mr Hollis, punching him twice in the arm before he went to Mr Bell’s car and got out a wooden bat.

He said he again grabbed Mr Hollis and struck him twice in the shoulder with the bat before Mr Hollis broke free and attempted to get on to his motorcycle.

Mr Ball said he kicked the defendant’s hand to prevent him from fleeing the area and then followed him towards the main road with the bat still in his hand.

He told the court that throughout the altercation he repeatedly asked Mr Hollis why he had struck Mr Bell and told him to get back to Shelly Bay so that he could answer for his actions, but Mr Hollis did not respond.

Mr Ball said he followed Mr Hollis around a nearby business before he ran away in an easterly direction.

He said he handed the bat to someone at the store “just to get rid of it” and returned to Shelly Bay, taking off his shirt as he walked because he was “mad” that Mr Hollis had fled.

Under cross-examination by Charles Richardson, counsel for Mr Hollis, Mr Ball accepted that while he did speak to police about an hour after the incident, he did not mention at that time that he had wielded a bat.

He told the court that he told police about the bat five days later after he was confronted with CCTV footage.

Mr Richardson suggested that it was “hogwash” that Mr Ball felt his life was threatened by Mr Hollis throwing items at him.

Mr Ball maintained that was the case, but accepted that he was angry about Mr Hollis’s behaviour.

He also agreed that when he approached the defendant, he was carrying a wrench that had been thrown at him and a beer bottle.

However, he denied that Mr Bell joined him with the wooden club when he approached Mr Hollis.

He also denied a suggestion that another man at the scene brandished a knife and said: “Don’t worry. I got something if he wants to act up.”

The trial continues.

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