Durban — Murder accused pensioner Anthony Ball, charged with shooting and killing Dean Charnley in a road rage incident, submitted his formal admissions as per the Criminal Procedure Act on Wednesday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court.
Ball is alleged to have shot Charnley with a single bullet in the chest last year in March on the Everton Road turn-off from the M13 in Kloof. He is on trial for the murder and has pleaded not guilty.
Ball’s version is that while on the M13 en route home Charnley tailgated him with the Nissan he had been driving and on Everton Road Charnley stopped his car in front of his Subaru and got out.
He claims that Charnley came towards him shouting and hit the roof of his Subaru with his hand violently. Before Charnley reached him, Ball opened his window and fired a warning shot.
He alleges that Charnley grabbed him through the window and partially opened the door, grabbing the gun that he still held. The second, fatal, shot went off inadvertently during the scuffle.
A State witness has previously testified that there was no scuffle and that it had been Ball who had blocked Charnley from overtaking him more than once on the M13.
Ball’s section 220 (of the Criminal Procedure Act) admissions were read into the court’s record by his lawyer, Advocate Gideon Scheltema SC.
These were that the deceased in the matter is Dean Charnley, and that he was established to have died at the scene. And further to this, Charnley sustained no further injuries from that time until a post-mortem was conducted.
Ball said that the Smith & Wesson revolver that was in evidence was lawfully licensed to him. He said that the implications of these admissions had been explained to him by his counsel.
In light of these admissions, the State submitted chain statements relating to procedures following Charnley's death. These included the death declaration from the scene, the arrival of his body at Medico-Legal Mortuary, as well the identification of his body by his wife Robyn on March 23.
These statements were read into the record by State prosecutor Rowen Souls and admitted by Magistrate M A Khumalo as exhibits in the matter.
WhatsApp your views on this story to 071 485 7995.
Daily News