Mark Ball — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Recross (Recall)
199 linesMR. WATERS: Your Honor, the state calls Mark Ball.
The witness, MARK BALL, was first sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: If you'll be seated and state your full name for the record, and spell your last name, please, sir.
MARK BALL: It's Mark Ball, last name B-a-l-l.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. WATERS:
MR. WATERS: How are you doing today?
MARK BALL: I would be even better if I weren't here.
MR. WATERS: Well, we'll get you out of here pretty quickly. I want to just ask you a few very quick questions in response to the defense case. And the first question I would ask you is prior to the murders of Maggie and Paul, did you ever hear Alex express any distrust of SLED?
MARK BALL: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Can you tell the jury what your observations were of his relationship with the law enforcement community?
MARK BALL: I thought it was very good. I mean, he interacted with them regularly, as most civil lawyers do. And then with his side gig, as, you know, solicitor, he obviously had interactions with them as well.
MR. WATERS: Do you remember coming to find out that Alex had installed blue lights in his private vehicle?
MARK BALL: Yes.
MR. WATERS: And can you tell the jury how long -- roughly how long ago that was?
MARK BALL: I can't tell you precisely. I can tell you it wasn't the vehicle that's been seized. He got that vehicle in the end of December before the murders had occurred in June, so he'd had that vehicle about six months roughly, and it was on the vehicle that was prior to that. It was a Suburban as well. I don't remember when that changed, that they were actually installed, but it was some time.
MR. WATERS: Do you have some property around in this area?
MARK BALL: I do.
MR. WATERS: And are you a hunter and an outdoorsman and shooter?
MARK BALL: I am.
MR. WATERS: Do you ever shoot hogs and other nuisance creatures?
MARK BALL: A bunch of them.
MR. WATERS: And when you're riding around looking for hogs, what -- can you do that in the daytime?
MARK BALL: Yes.
MR. WATERS: And is it not uncommon to see hogs during the daytime?
MARK BALL: I've shot -- two weeks ago I shot five.
MR. WATERS: During the daytime?
MARK BALL: 4:30. They come out, you know, all different times, but, I mean, the more pressure you put on them, the more nocturnal they'll become. But they eat all of the time and they root, and the rooting is what the real problem is. They root up your roads and fields and everything else.
MR. WATERS: Have you ever known the defendant -- you've known the defendant for how long?
MARK BALL: Thirty-four years.
MR. WATERS: You're aware the defendant and his family had a number of long guns, rifles and shotguns?
MARK BALL: Yes.
MR. WATERS: Have you ever known him to talk much about target shooting a pistol?
MARK BALL: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Do you know what Paul's weapon of choice was when shooting hogs?
MARK BALL: Shooting -
MR. WATERS: Hogs.
MARK BALL: The 300 Blackouts were bought for hog hunting. I assume Paul would have shot them with anything that he had, but that's what the 300 Blackouts were bought for.
MR. WATERS: Did you have any conversations with the defendant when he was purchasing the original two Blackouts especially for hog hunting?
MARK BALL: I did. I'm not a big 300 Blackout fan, and I told him that and he bought them anyway, and I think his cousin actually put them together, who was a game warden.
MR. WATERS: And the time after the murders, did you have a number of conversations with the defendant about his activities that night?
MARK BALL: I did. I had that night and then subsequent days.
MR. WATERS: And did you have -- did you go over those in fairly - some sort of detail?
MARK BALL: Yes, sir. You know, at times sometimes it wasn't detailed. You know, it would just be checking on him to see how he was doing and to see, you know, if they had come up with any leads or where things stood. I mean, everybody was trying to figure this out. I mean, this is one of those lightening strikes in life that just jolts you and you don't -- there's no rhyme or reason.
MR. WATERS: What, if anything, did he say about whether or not he checked Maggie and Paul before he called 911?
MARK BALL: As I testified before, my recollection of it was that he testified -- or he told me, not testified, but he told me that he went to Maggie and then he went to Paul, rolled Paul over. His phone -- I didn't hear the phone the first time he said that. I think that was about the second or third time. But I also wouldn't -- wasn't really listening -- I was listening to what -- what occurred, you know, who did this. Why would they have done this? But the second time he went -- it was reversed where he went to Paul and then to Maggie. And I -- like I told you before, I don't know whether that's just a slip, you know, from one to the other or vice versa, but he definitely went and checked on them and then called 911.
MR. WATERS: When was the first time you heard his admission and claim now that he did go to the kennels around 8:44 p.m.?
MARK BALL: Thursday. Last Thursday.
MR. WATERS: Last Thursday?
MARK BALL: Yeah.
MR. WATERS: And was he clear prior to that that he did not go down there in his conversations with you?
MARK BALL: He never said anything about that or any reason for it. It just -- he'd never been there.
MR. WATERS: You said you had known the defendant for how long?
MARK BALL: Thirty-four years.
MR. WATERS: Knowing what you know now, was he able to look you in the eye and lie convincingly and effortlessly to you?
MR. GRIFFIN: Objection, 404.
JUDGE NEWMAN: The objection is overruled.
MARK BALL: It's pretty obvious I didn't know the stealing. I didn't know any of that. And, you know, it's not -- the way a plaintiff's practice works, you work on your own cases unless you're working with somebody else, and so you wouldn't necessarily be talking about his particular cases, so it -- sort of yes and no. I mean, obviously a lot of things that I was told and a lot of things just weren't there. I mean, the blue lights, the reasoning for the blue lights, the -- you know, the money missing from our account when he cashed the two checks, all of those types of things, obviously they weren't truthful.
MR. WATERS: Did you feel like you knew the defendant well prior to June 7th?
MARK BALL: I sure thought I did.
MR. WATERS: Thank you. Nothing further.
JUDGE NEWMAN: By the defense?
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. GRIFFIN:
MR. GRIFFIN: Good afternoon, Mr. Ball.
MARK BALL: Good afternoon.
MR. GRIFFIN: Just to be clear, after the Labor Day weekend when Alex was confronted by the law firm -
MARK BALL: Well, it was before Labor Day. It was the 3rd.
MR. GRIFFIN: Friday or Thursday before?
MARK BALL: Right. It was the Friday before we confronted him.
MR. GRIFFIN: Have you ever talked to him since the day he was confronted?
MARK BALL: I talked to him on that Monday when I believe that he and Randy and John were going to, I believe, Atlanta, to the facility down there, and I got a phone call, I don't know, 1:00 or 2:00, whatever it was. I was coming from the office. I had been digging through his files and stuff, and I got a call. It registered as John Marvin. I picked it up and said what you need, John, and it was Alex.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that would have been Labor Day 2021?
MARK BALL: It would have been Labor Day 2021.
MR. GRIFFIN: And since Labor Day of 2021, you have not spoken with Alex.
MARK BALL: I have not.
MR. GRIFFIN: And since Labor Day of 2021, Alex has either been in rehab or in jail. Is that correct?
MARK BALL: He has been to my knowledge.
MR. GRIFFIN: You've not had any opportunity -- I mean, he's been represented by counsel as well, right?
MARK BALL: Sure. I mean, I wouldn't expect to if, you know, he's being charged with crimes, you know.
MR. GRIFFIN: So, you wouldn't have any expectation that since September of 2021 that he would come to you and talk to you about whether he was on a video, whether he was at the kennels, or where he was, correct?
MARK BALL: No, not since September.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. You were asked questions about Alex's distrust of SLED, and you testified that he had a good relationship with law enforcement.
MARK BALL: He did. I never heard any mistrust of SLED or anybody else.
MR. GRIFFIN: Well, let's talk about that.
MARK BALL: From him, I mean.
MR. GRIFFIN: Well, did Alex take the position that his son, Paul, was wrongfully charged for felony under the influence causing a death and serious bodily injury as a result of the boating accident?
MARK BALL: Yes. He -- I mean, I think he disputed that and was planning a vigorous defense of that.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that happened -- those charges have been pending since 2019. Is that correct?
MARK BALL: Four years ago a couple of days ago.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right, and so he did express some dissatisfaction over that case, correct?
MARK BALL: Well, over that case, but I don't know that it was directed at law enforcement or who it was directed at. It was just -- it wasn't -- he didn't specifically say or didn't say I distrust SLED or I distrust Beaufort County Sheriff's Department or DNR or whoever. It was just he thought that there was defensible -- it was a defensible case, the criminal charges against Paul. And, you know, there was this back and forth as to whether it could have been one or two people driving.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you were informed, I believe, in the -- some time in the spring of 2021 that SLED was actually investigating Alex for obstructing the boating accident investigation, right?
MARK BALL: No, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: You were not aware of that.
MARK BALL: I was not aware of that. I -
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you know whether Alex was aware of that?
MARK BALL: I have no idea what he was -- he never -- he never said that to me. I didn't know about anything to do with the investigation until the grand jury, when I went to the grand jury.
MR. GRIFFIN: Were you aware that he and his father sat in on the criminal prosecution of his good friend Greg Alexander?
MARK BALL: I became aware of that. Well, back up. Yeah, I knew they went over there. I didn't know much about the detail until after the -- SLED came in after the third of September of 2021.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Chief Alexander was prosecuted after SLED investigated him, correct?
MARK BALL: I think that's the case, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that Alex and his father thought that Chief Alexander was wrongfully accused. Were you aware of that?
MARK BALL: I don't know what they thought about it. I know that they were close to Greg Alexander, and Greg Alexander ultimately got off on a jury trial.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, we do know that the Colleton County Sheriff's Department in this case recused themselves because Alex was --
MARK BALL: Let me correct something. I said that he got off. He was found not guilty. I mean, I don't want there to be a negative implication. I know Greg as well, and -- so.
MR. GRIFFIN: Sure. Well, thank you for clarifying that. And we do know that Sheriff Buddy Hill and the entire Colleton County Sheriff's Department recused themselves in this case because of Alex's close relationship with the Colleton County Sheriff's Department and law enforcement. Is that right?
MARK BALL: I know they recused themselves and I know they called in SLED that night. I wasn't privy to the reasoning, but I would make that assumption.
MR. GRIFFIN: And there's different levels of law enforcement agencies, right? There's the Town of Hampton Police Department, Hampton County Sheriff's Department, and Alex had a really good relationship at that level with those folks, right?
MARK BALL: He did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he had a really good relationship with the Colleton County Sheriff's Department to your knowledge?
MARK BALL: He did as far as I know, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: But -- I think I covered that. So, you mentioned that hogs become nocturnal when there's a lot of pressure on them.
MARK BALL: They can.
MR. GRIFFIN: They can.
MARK BALL: But they -- it depends on a lot of things. Like right now the swamp is up. They are much more on the hill, and when times are dry, they go out into the flat swamp and root up everything out there.
MR. GRIFFIN: And the pressure that you're referring to is hunting pressure.
MARK BALL: Yeah.
MR. GRIFFIN: And are you aware that Paul put a lot of pressure on the hogs at Moselle?
MARK BALL: I knew Paul hunted logs a lot of places. At one point Paul had hog dogs and would hunt on people's property. He came to my property, went to Ronnie's. But how much pressure they were putting on them I don't know because I wasn't over there. I mean, I've ridden around their property several times, but I never -- it wasn't about hog hunting.
MR. GRIFFIN: Sure, and I want to ask you about the Moselle property, the tract. So, you know, we've all seen drone photos of the house and the kennels and Moselle Road that's sort of right in front of the residence.
MARK BALL: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then if you're sort of looking from a drone seeing some aerial photos, I guess if you're headed south there's a dove field right adjacent. Is that south I would think?
MARK BALL: Yeah, at least east.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and then back behind the Moselle residence, I think there's a river?
MARK BALL: Well, there's a swamp, and then big Salkehatchie is back in there.
MR. GRIFFIN: So, the swamp begins behind the house and goes -- I don't know, is that west?
MARK BALL: Sort of south. If the runway is running east and west, then it would be south.
MR. GRIFFIN: But the swamp is all -- is behind the house.
MARK BALL: It's behind the house.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and across the street from the house is the duck pond and the shooting range and no swamp.
MARK BALL: Correct, timberland.
MR. GRIFFIN: And all the hogs are going to be behind the house.
MARK BALL: They're all over. They follow -- there's a water shed ditch in there, they follow wherever. But predominately they seek refuge or whatnot in the swamp, but they can be anywhere. I have them -- there's gum palms and every place else, and they just trample wherever they want to go. But you're right, by and large they're in the swamp because it's wooded.
MR. GRIFFIN: And -
MARK BALL: Thick.
MR. GRIFFIN: And in the month of June it's pretty warm, is it not?
MARK BALL: It usually is here in South Carolina.
MR. GRIFFIN: Yes, it is. And do hogs like to stay in the swamp more in the summer?
MARK BALL: Not -- I haven't noticed that, and I've killed probably well over a thousand hogs. And so we trap them all of the way through. I mean, I've got two traps and - well, actually I've got six traps, but, I mean, I trap them. I shoot. You know. They're just a scourge. They eat everything. They root up your roads. They get in your pine trees when they're little; they'll root them up. They're a tee total nuisance. Like, I carry a gun with me most of the time.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you have a gun with a thermal scope so you can hunt them at night?
MARK BALL: I do have a thermal, and then I have others.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, Mr. Ball, is there ever a time when you don't have gun with you when you're traveling around?
MARK BALL: Only if I forget it, but usually I have one.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you understood that Maggie and Alex got 300 Blackouts for Paul and Buster for Christmas one year and they came with thermal scopes.
MARK BALL: I do.
MR. GRIFFIN: And are you aware that Paul had his lost or stolen?
MARK BALL: I was.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that he received a replacement without a thermal scope?
MARK BALL: Right. My understanding was it had a red dot.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that he didn't use that one very often. He used Buster's that did have a thermal scope. You learned that?
MARK BALL: I've heard bits and pieces. I haven't been watching everything, but somebody told me that or I heard it, one or the other.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Buster's is sitting here in the courtroom. Are you aware of that?
MARK BALL: I didn't -- I assumed y'all had -- I know that the black one was taken from the house because I was standing there.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right. That's fair.
MARK BALL: But you wouldn't use a thermal in the daytime for the most part. I mean, you could, I suppose, but it wouldn't serve much purpose.
MR. GRIFFIN: There's been some discussion about Alex's emoting, being emotional during trials. He's an emotional person altogether, isn't he?
MARK BALL: I think he probably is.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you remember him speaking at his -- when his dad got awarded the Palmetto, for his dad?
MARK BALL: I do.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he get emotional then?
MARK BALL: Yeah.
MR. GRIFFIN: And do you remember him speaking at the trial lawyers after he had finished up his term and he got emotional then?
MARK BALL: Well, I wasn't there for that, so -
MR. GRIFFIN: But you've seen him get emotional frequently?
MARK BALL: Sure. Everybody gets emotional.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he was extremely emotional after losing Maggie and Paul.
MARK BALL: There's no question about that.
MR. GRIFFIN: One last point. Do you recall reading or learning on the morning of June the 8th that a statement was released through the Colleton County Sheriff's Office that says: At this time there's no danger to the public. If information is received that dictates otherwise, we will immediately notify the public.
MARK BALL: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did that concern you?
MARK BALL: Very much.
MR. GRIFFIN: And why did it concern you?
MARK BALL: Well, I had been over there that night, and I left 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, came home, laid down for a little while, took a shower, and then I heard that. And I got on the phone with Sheriff Smalls on my way into work about 7:30 or so, and I asked him if he knew anything about what that was about, and I went -- he said I don't know. I'll check. And then later that evening the lieutenant from over here called me, and he explained that they didn't have any credible threats against anybody other than - they didn't have any threats period, but they didn't have any -- there was no knowledge, no information about anybody else being in harm's way. And we had probably had a thirty or forty-five minute conversation, and it didn't leave me any more -- I guess I still had questions because we have sixty or seventy people that work for us, and the last thing I wanted was some -- somebody coming in and, you know, blasting up the place. And so we made the decision to lock the doors, and we did that for probably a couple of months.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right.
MARK BALL: Just like we're doing now.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you.
MR. GRIFFIN: Beg the Court's indulgence. That's all of the questions I have.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. WATERS:
MR. WATERS: You were asked a little bit about Colleton and the sheriff's department recusing themselves. Are you aware that they continued to assist in the case?
MARK BALL: I know that they were out there and, you know, I wasn't -- the internal politics of who's lead who's not lead -- I mean, I know that they were there because one of the deputies called me the next morning and asked me where Paul's truck was, and I called Alex and verified where it was and told -- you know, I had several interactions with them. So, yeah, they were still involved. They weren't -
MR. WATERS: For the first few months of the investigation, the local solicitor's office was still running the investigation to your knowledge?
MARK BALL: As far as I know. They were out there, Mr. Stone, his chief assistant, were out there and an investigator were out there the next day, and I want to say they were out there maybe two days to lend whatever assistance they could lend, I guess. And I think it was August I saw, like everybody else in the paper, that he, Mr. Stone, had recused himself.
MR. WATERS: And that would be the same office for which the defendant had the badge. Is that correct?
MARK BALL: Correct. He was an assistant, and so was his father.
MR. WATERS: All right. Thank you. Nothing further.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. GRIFFIN: Just briefly.
RECROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. GRIFFIN:
MR. GRIFFIN: Mr. Ball, isn't it correct that law enforcement does the investigation, the solicitor's office does the prosecution?
MARK BALL: That's the way it normally works.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you. That's all I have.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you.
(The witness exited the stand.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to break, excuse the jury now until 2:15. Please do not discuss the case.
(The jury left the courtroom.)