Andrew Ballantyne: The faces of High Wycombe killers

After they were jailed yesterday (Monday), police have released the mugshots of Asher Anderson and James Scott, who both pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Anderson, 35, of Walton Gardens, Wembley, was sentenced to nine years in prison and James Scott, 32, of Hawthorne Road, High Wycombe, got six years and three months behind bars for the unlawful killing of Mr Ballantyne on July 31, 2021.

Asher Anderson was the lead aggressor in the attack on Mr Ballantyne [TVP]

Thames Valley Police has also released images of Daniel Ramsey, Ramah Lampkin and Nickolas Williams, all of whom participated in violence against Mr Ballantyne. The three men all pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder.

James Scott also admitted to manslaughter [TVP]

AS IT HAPPENED: Andrew Ballantyne killers JAILED

Ramsey, 25, of Micklefield Road, High Wycombe, got 24 months; Lampkin, 24, of Rowan Avenue, High Wycombe, got 26 months; and Nickolas Williams, 25, of Gibbs Close, High Wycombe, received 26 months.

All five men were related to Mr Ballantyne either through distant family or old family friendships. Mr Ballantyne was the uncle of Daniel Ramsey.

Daniel Ramsey, Ramah Lampkin and Nickolas Williams were all involved in the violent assault [TVP]

Sentencing them at Reading Crown Court on Monday, Judge Amjad Nawaz said: “The Ballantyne family have had Andrew Ballantyne taken from them. Nothing that can be said or done can put that right.

"The results can be described as nothing but tragic for everyone involved in this.

"Each of these defendants will have to live with the recognition that they were involved in the taking of life."

How was Andrew Ballantyne killed?

Mr Ballantyne had been confronted by Anderson in the days before his death over a drug debt that Mr Ballantyne’s son apparently owed the offender.

Prosecutor Christopher Donnellan QC told the court how Mr Ballantyne and his son had been driving through the streets of High Wycombe a few days before he died when a black Mercedes blocked their car’s path. Anderson got out of the car and said to Mr Ballantyne “wait til you get it, you’re going to f***ing get it, and your son. It’s only a matter of time.”

The attack took place at the Jet garage in Micklefield Road [Peter Manning]

A few days later, just after midnight on July 31, 2021, Mr Ballantyne had been with friends when he went out to get some money from the ATM outside Nisa Local in Micklefield Road.

Unable to get any money out of the machine, he went over to the Jet petrol station nearby, using the cash machine there.

Just before Mr Ballantyne arrived at the petrol station, Williams and Lampkin had parked up on the forecourt, and after he got his cash, Mr Ballantyne went over to talk with them.

Shortly after this, Anderson arrived in the black Mercedes with Scott and Ramsey. The trio got out of the car and things quickly became violent.

There is no CCTV footage of the assault itself, and no witnesses to the attack have come forward, but evidence suggested Mr Ballantyne could have been struck by a bottle. Pieces of glass were found in Mr Ballantyne’s face, he had suffered a blunt force trauma to the head and was found lying in a pool of brandy, with a broken bottle neck nearby.

Police arrived on the scene almost immediately [Peter Manning]

Police determined that Mr Ballantyne was hit by one of the men with such force that it knocked him through the bushes at the side of the car park and left him lying on the pavement. At some point after this, he suffered a heart attack.

The exact cause of death was not ascertained by a pathologist, who found the significant factors in Mr Ballantyne's death were head trauma and cardiac arrest.

Police spent the night and most of the following day gathering evidence at the scene [Peter Manning]

Judge Nawaz ruled there was not enough evidence to say conclusively that a bottle was used in the attack, and sentenced Anderson and Scott on the basis that they did not use a weapon.

What the police saw

By chance, two police officers on patrol in the area were driving past the scene and saw several men appearing to kick what looked like a bag on the floor. As they got closer, they realised it was the unresponsive Mr Ballantyne on the ground.

When the officers arrived on the scene, all but one of the men fled, but bodycam footage showed Lampkin ignored the officers, instead filming the lifeless body of the victim on a phone. When the officer arrived and grabbed Lampkin, he wriggled free and ran away, escaping into nearby gardens.

The assault began in the car park before Mr Ballantyne was hit with such force that he was knocked through the bushes and ended up on the pavement by the road [Peter Manning]

The two officers attempted CPR and Mr Ballantyne received further treatment from paramedics when they arrived, but they were unable to save him, and he was pronounced dead on the scene.

Daniel Ramsey, the victim's nephew, stayed nearby for some time before getting in the Mercedes and driving off in it.

Nickolas Williams remained on the scene and was arrested by the officers.

Less than an hour before Mr Ballantyne’s death, the five men had been drinking at the Dolphin pub. As they were leaving the pub, Anderson and Williams assaulted a man, who was knocked unconscious and suffered a gashed head.

Williams pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and Anderson admitted to common assault.

Anderson received a three-month sentence, which will run concurrently with his nine-year term, while Williams received eight months.

Judge Nawaz ruled that this would run consecutively with the 18-month sentence he gave for the violent disorder, making his sentence 26 months in total.

Anderson will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence before he can be released on licence, while the other four will be able to leave prison after serving half of their terms.

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