Durban — In April the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court would hear the defence’s case in the murder trial against a pensioner alleged to have shot and killed a father of three in a road rage incident.
On Tuesday the State wrapped up its case with State prosecutor Rowen Souls calling the arresting officer to take the stand and give testimony.
Anthony Ball is charged with the murder of Dean Charnley who was shot and killed on the Everton Road turn-off from the M13 in Kloof in 2022.
In his not-guilty plea, Ball’s version is that he was on his way home, and while on the M13 Charnley tailgated him.
On Everton Road Charnley stopped his Nissan in front of Ball’s Subaru and got out.
Charnley allegedly came towards Ball shouting and hitting the roof of his car violently with his hand.
A warning shot was fired out of the Subaru’s open window by Ball before Charnley reached him.
He alleges that Charnley grabbed him through the window and partially opened the door grabbing the gun which he still held on to; the second fatal shot had gone off inadvertently during a scuffle.
Sergeant Jethro Khoza testified that on the day of the shooting, he was called out to the scene through radio control. On arrival he found Charnley dead on the ground.
“My superior Colonel Myburgh said that the suspect was at Hillcrest SAPS and we must go and get him from there.
“We went to Hillcrest SAPS, entered, and found the suspect. He told me that he was involved in a drive-by shooting.”
Khoza said that Ball handed him a Smith and Western revolver 38 and told him that it was the gun he had used to shoot.
“We arrested him and put him in the police van. I put on gloves and drove his (Ball’s) car to the Pinetown police station. I noticed that there was blood on the driver's door. We went to the Pinetown SAPS where we charged him,” said Khoza.
He took Ball’s gun and put it into evidence along with three live rounds and two spent cartridges, he said.
“I called the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) to come and get primer residue from the suspect’s hands,” he said.
During cross-examination, Khoza made it clear that he played no role other than arresting Ball and getting LCRC to do their part, including gathering evidence from his car that was at the police station. This was after Ball’s defence counsel advocate Gideon Scheltema SC had asked whether Ball’s car was dusted for palm and fingerprints and whether LCRC had been sent to test Charnley for primer residue.
“If fingerprints were lifted from the driver’s window that would have been very important. I will suggest to you that the accused today is very seriously compromised due to a lack of elementary basic police investigation …
“I will suggest to you that this is a very serious case of intimidation and the accused attempted to open a case at the Hillcrest police station.”
Khoza maintained that LCRC’s job was to lift prints. He knew nothing else about the investigation as his part and instruction was to arrest the accused.
Scheltema went on to say that his client disputed that he had told Khoza that he was involved in a drive-by shooting.
“Because not by any stretch of the imagination was this a drive-by shooting.”
The trial continues in April.
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