Ninja Man will require an emergency heart surgery following his collapse in court last week Friday.
Sources told Dancehall HipHop that the dancehall icon suffered a mild heart attack in the Supreme Court on Friday morning while his murder trial was underway. A high court judge halted the trial on Friday which eventually proceeded on Monday. Ninja Man was brought to a local hospital by a police detail after he started complaining about chest pain and difficulty breathing.
The dancehall star’s attorney, Valrie Neita-Robertson, gave reporters an update on his medical condition. “We have the medical, Ninjaman has a serious heart condition, and he will have to have an operation which will require a recovery period of three to four months,” Neita-Robertson said. “So we want to finish this case as quickly as possible because Ninjaman cannot go under any stress right now and has to remain as calm as possible.”
Neita-Robertson added that Ninja Man heart issues is caused by stress from his murder case. She called on the judicial system to quickly wraps up the case so that the artist can go back to living a normal life. If convicted, Ninja Man, born Desmond Ballentine, his son Jamiel, and Dennis Clayton, could be sent to prison for life. The three men are on trial for the murder of Ricardo “Trooper” Johnson who was shot and killed on Marl Road, Kingston 11, in March 2009.
Cops say a number of eye witnesses identified the accused men of the killing, but they are maintaining their innocence. Ninja Man is in police custody pending the outcome of the trial. Last month a judge revoked his bail and ordered him back behind bars while the case was transferred to a special case which deals with cases over five years old. Get well soon Ninja Man