'NINJA MAN'DANCEHALL DEEJAY Desmond 'Ninja Man' Ballentine, who created a stir at Sting 2002 by handing over an illegal gun to Senior Superintendent of Police Reneto Adams, is still wanted by the St. Mary police on two counts of indecent assault.
A warrant has been out for his arrest since November 26, but no effort was made to arrest him when he appeared at Sting and several other shows since.
SSP Adams told The Gleaner yesterday that no one had informed him of the warrant. "I was not officially aware that there was a warrant out for his arrest," he said. However, he added that 'Ninja Man' was a well-known person and the police could easily catch him at any time. He said too that his team was not about to cause any upheaval at Sting because, given the crowd, it would not have been the most appropriate place to take action against the deejay.
Investigating officer in the case of indecent assault, Constable Angella McTaggart, who is based in Port Maria, said yesterday that she had informed the relevant authorities of the charges and the warrant for his arrest.
"I told the DDI (Divisional Inspector responsible for crime in the parish) of the different places Ninja Man would be performing at," Constable McTaggart said.
According to Deputy Superintendent Kelso Small of Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) in St. Mary, Ninja Man left the island the day after the warrant was issued for his arrest. He said that investigators were un-aware of his return.
Deputy Superintendent Small, responding to questions on why Ninja Man was not apprehended at Sting 2002, said that it was likely that the officers there did not know of the warrant for his arrest.
"It takes time for an issued warrant to be circulated to all members of the force, as the information would have to be published in the police gazette," he said.
The DSP said that it was after unsuccessful efforts were made to apprehend Ninja Man, that the information on the warrant would have been published in the police gazette, requesting the assistance of the other officers in the force.
"Efforts were made to find him, and the information received was that he had left the island shortly after the warrant was issued for his arrest," said the Deputy Superintendent.
A source at the CCN in Kingston told The Gleaner last night that it was usual for persons as well known and in the public view as Ninja Man to be gazetted: "We usually gazette people we've been searching for, for a long, long time and can't find, not someone like Ninja Man!" the source said.
The St. Mary police issued the warrant for Ninja Man's arrest in November, after it was alleged that he forced a close female relative, said to be about 14 years old, to perform a sex act on him.
Allegations were that Ninja Man forced her to perform oral sex. The Annotto Bay police collected a statement and physical evidence from the victim. The police also visited Ninja Man's St. Mary home, but were told that he was not there.
The police said that Ninja Man subsequently called the police and told them that he was on his way to the Cayman Islands and would be back in a few days.
