Police officers have described the aftermath of a fatal attack on an off-duty corrections officer and the arrest of the man accused of his murder.

Ajamu Hollis has denied killing Daemon Bell, 49, in an altercation 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 Hollis and Mr Bell’s brother-in-law, Dion Ball Jr.

As the Supreme Court trial continued yesterday, Acting Sergeant Justin Hunt told the jury that he was on mobile patrol on the afternoon of February 2, 2022, when he was contacted about a man injured at Shelly Bay Field.

He said that he had driven past the area just before he received the call and noticed a crowd of people in the area, but did not think anything of it because it was a popular neighbourhood hangout spot.

Sergeant Hunt said that when he returned to the scene he was directed to a man laying on his back with a blood-soaked towel over his face.

“I approached the victim and tried to communicate with him,” he said. “He didn’t reply, nor was he moving.”

He told the court that he removed the towel from the man’s face and saw blood coming from his nose and mouth.

“I saw his eyes were moving, which made me believe he was conscious,” Sergeant Hunt added. “I put the victim in the recovery position, I put him on his right side so he wouldn’t choke.”

He said that Mr Bell was then taken away from the area in an ambulance.

Pc Terry Paynter told the court that she also attended the scene of the fatal altercation that afternoon.

“The first person I saw was a gentleman known to me as Dion,” she said. “He was irate. I approached him and calmed him down.”

Based on her conversations with those at the scene, she said she set out to look for Mr Hollis, who she knew as “Pumpkin” from her work as a community officer in the area.

Pc Paynter said she drove to his home a short distance away and spoke with his mother, who said he was not there.

“I explained to her that the police were looking for her son and gave her my name,” she said. “I knew that if Pumpkin knew I was looking for him, he was more likely to come to me.”

She said she attended a few other areas around Hamilton Parish to look for Mr Hollis before she spotted him on the sidewalk a short distance from where the altercation took place.

“He was standing on the sidewalk by the bus stop on the opposite side of the road from Howzat,” she said.

“I pulled the police car alongside. He opened the back door and he just got right in the car. He said his mama told him I was looking for him.”

Pc Paynter said that she later arrested Mr Hollis and told him that he would be handcuffed.

“He said he wasn’t going anywhere and asked me if the subject in the incident was OK,” she said. “He asked me if Daemon was OK.”

She said that Mr Hollis also asked if they could stop at his home so he could pick up medication before they went to Hamilton Police Station.

Under cross-examination by Charles Richardson, counsel for Mr Hollis, Pc Paynter said that the defendant was not aggressive during their interaction.

“He was a little agitated, nervous, but I wouldn’t say hostile,” she said.

She also accepted that she was aware Mr Hollis had struggled with drug addition and had been in and out of treatment.

Pc Crai-che’ Hall told the court that she spoke with Mr Bell at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital about the attack.

She told the court that Mr Bell’s face was bloody and swollen, but he indicated that he wanted to speak.

Pc Hall said that according to her notes, Mr Bell told her that he was sitting at Shelly Bay when an argument broke out.

He went on to say: “He assaulted my brother-in-law first. I hit the suspect. He said he was coming back. He came back with a garden hoe.”

Pc Hall told the court Mr Bell claimed his attacker was “Hollis”, and that he was a former inmate at Westgate, where Mr Bell had worked as a corrections officer.

She said that Mr Bell said that he had been drinking, but did not know how many drinks he had that day.

Pc Hall said she ended the conversation because it appeared that Mr Bell was in increasing discomfort.

Another officer involved in the case, Acting Sergeant Jordan Basden, said that on February 3, 2022, he had helped to transport Mr Hollis between Hamilton Police Station and a drug treatment facility.

He said that on the way back to the station, Mr Hollis asked him if Mr Bell was alive or dead.

Sergeant Basden said that while he knew that Mr Bell had already died, he lied and told Mr Hollis that he didn’t know.

He said that Mr Hollis then added: “I hope that bie ain’t dead.”

The trial continues.

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