A man charged with murdering an off-duty corrections officer acknowledged that he delivered the blow that led to the victim’s death.

Ajamu Hollis told the Supreme Court yesterday that he felt “devastated” about the death of Daemon Bell but maintained that he was not guilty of the crime of murder.

He told the court that he had stopped by Shelly Bay Field on the afternoon of February 2, 2022 to check on a friend but left because he was fearful after an argument about youth cricket turned hostile and Mr Bell hit him.

However, he returned to the area minutes later after he realised he had left some cannabis there.

Mr Hollis said he brought a garden hoe with him to dissuade others from attacking him but was confronted by Mr Bell.

“I could see Mr Bell with the bat in his hand. Dion Ball Jr was in the back of him,” he said. “I took some strides, he took some strides. Mr Bell was coming towards me.

“I thought he was going to hit me. I thought they were both going to attack me.”

Mr Hollis said he swung at Mr Bell once, striking him in the face, and saw him fall to the ground.

He said he then held Mr Bell, urging the others in the area to help him before being chased away by Mr Ball, who had picked up the bat Mr Bell had been holding earlier.

Asked what he would do differently if he could, Mr Hollis said: “Put that guy in the car and take him to the hospital.”

Mr Hollis has denied murdering Mr Bell, 49, in an altercation at Shelly Bay Park in Hamilton Parish.

Prosecutors said 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 Ball.

Charles Richardson, counsel for Mr Hollis, told the court: “It is not my client’s position that he is totally blameless in this situation or that he is totally innocent.

“This was manslaughter at worst based on what happened and what he perceived in the moment the incident took place.”

Taking the stand in his own defence, Mr Hollis said that he had gone to Shelly Bay Field on the afternoon of the fatal altercation to check on Shaun Hunt, who was known to sleep at the park, and saw a few people there, including Mr Bell.

He said that after he arrived he put an amount of cannabis in a cigarette box and put it on the ground because he did not want it on him.

He said that the group were talking about sports and Mr Ball had mentioned playing Shell Youth Tournament cricket, which Mr Hollis disputed.

“I was a child when Shell cricket was played,” Mr Hollis said. “When I got older, it was gone.”

He said the argument quickly became heated with Mr Ball “ranting and raving”, and he told Mr Ball to shut up.

The situation escalated and Mr Hollis admitted that he had thrown several items that were in his bike seat, including a paintbrush and two spanners. He said that he was afraid that Mr Ball and the others were going to “jump” him.

He told the court that Mr Bell, who was holding a wooden bat in his right hand, punched him in the face with his left hand.

Mr Hollis said he saw someone else in the group, David Cumberbatch, with a knife and Mr Ball was holding both a bottle and one of the thrown spanners.

He said he got on his bike and put on his helmet and, after being struck again by an unknown person, rode home.

Mr Hollis said that when he got home he wanted to smoke because he was stressed but realised that he had left his cannabis at the field.

He decided to go back to the field and brought the garden hoe with him.

“I thought if I took this, I could get the box and get out of there,” he said.

Mr Hollis told the court that in the wake of the attack he repeatedly urged Mr Ball to let him help Mr Bell, but Mr Ball shouted a stream of threats at him.

“I said, ‘stop worrying about me. Get him some help’,” he said. “Every time I reached for my phone he was swinging the bat at me.”

He told the court that eventually he did leave the area and was called by his mother, who told him that Pc Terry Lynn Paynter, a community policing officer Mr Hollis knew, was looking for him.

Mr Hollis said that when he saw her police car on North Shore Road, he immediately opened the door and got in.

He told the court that he only found out about Mr Bell’s death the next day when he was formally charged with murder.

“I couldn’t process it,” he said. “I couldn’t process it for a long time after that.”

Mr Hollis said he had nothing against Mr Bell and that he had known him before he became a prison officer and that he had helped make his time in custody easier.

The trial continues.

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