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http://www.thisislondon.com/dynamic/news/story.html?in_review_id=274935&in_review_text_id=221132
Farmer guilty of murdering burglar
by Paul Cheston
Farmer Tony Martin was jailed for life today for the shotgun murder of teenage gipsy burglar Fred Barras at his remote Norfolk home. Yet the jury appeared reluctant to convict, first clearing Martin on two lesser charges, then asking the judge whether they could bring in a manslaughter decision. The surprise murder verdict came nearly three hours after the judge had said no.
The courtroom erupted in cheering from 16-year-old Barras's family as the 10-2 majority verdict was returned by the jury at Norwich Crown Court after an eight-day trial and nearly 10 hours' deliberations over two days.
Martin, 55, had been cleared earlier of the attempted murder of Barras's accomplice Brendan Fearon, but was convicted by the same majority of wounding with intent.
Mr Justice Owen jailed Martin for life but emphasised that the case served as a warning to burglars. He said: "As far as the law is concerned there is only one sentence for murder and that's life imprisonment. The outcome of any trial depends on the evidence before the court and in my opinion rarely are generalisations justified.
"But it seems to me that this case serves to send a dire warning to all burglars who break into the houses of other people. The law is that every citizen is entitled to use reasonable force to prevent crime.
"Burglary is a crime and a householder in his own home may think he is being reasonable but he may not have been, and that may have tragic consequences."
Martin was jailed for 10 years on the charge of wounding Fearon with intent and one year for possessing the shotgun without a firearms certificate. Both sentences were concurrent.
In a day of extraordinary tension and drama, the jury's unanimous verdict of not guilty to attempted murder had been greeted with howls of outrage and cries of "They cannot do that," by the gipsy families in a court packed with police armed with CS spray and batons, stationed between the victims' families and supporters and the dock.
It was to be another three hours before the final verdicts were returned and Martin sentenced.
Martin shot Barras and Fearon after they broke into his farmhouse at Emneth Hungate, searching for antiques in August last year.
They were carrying a holdall containing a chisel, torch, baseball cap and gloves and had been driven 70 miles from Newark for the raid by Darren Bark.
Martin fired three shots from a 12-bore pump-action Winchester shotgun. He had been burgled before and had threatened to "blow their heads off" if they had returned and talked of machine-gunning gipsies, the court heard.
He denied he was "hell-bent on revenge". He sobbed as he told the court how he felt "ter-rified and vulnerable".
He said he had been woken in bed by the noise of intruders, picked up his shotgun in the dark and fired without warning when a light was suddenly shone into his face. "I did not intend to hit them. I was not protecting my property but myself," he said.
However, ballistics experts told the jury that the shots had not been fired from the staircase as Martin had claimed and the Crown accused him of lying in wait downstairs for the intruders to arrive.
Barras was hit in the back from a range of 15 feet, but dragged himself out of the house and died in the grounds of the farm, where his body was discovered 15 hours later.
Fearon suffered shotgun wounds to both legs. Fearon was jailed earlier this year for three years for his part in the break-in and Bark, 33, the getaway driver, was sentenced to three and a half years.
Farmer guilty of murdering burglar
by Paul Cheston
Farmer Tony Martin was jailed for life today for the shotgun murder of teenage gipsy burglar Fred Barras at his remote Norfolk home. Yet the jury appeared reluctant to convict, first clearing Martin on two lesser charges, then asking the judge whether they could bring in a manslaughter decision. The surprise murder verdict came nearly three hours after the judge had said no.
The courtroom erupted in cheering from 16-year-old Barras's family as the 10-2 majority verdict was returned by the jury at Norwich Crown Court after an eight-day trial and nearly 10 hours' deliberations over two days.
Martin, 55, had been cleared earlier of the attempted murder of Barras's accomplice Brendan Fearon, but was convicted by the same majority of wounding with intent.
Mr Justice Owen jailed Martin for life but emphasised that the case served as a warning to burglars. He said: "As far as the law is concerned there is only one sentence for murder and that's life imprisonment. The outcome of any trial depends on the evidence before the court and in my opinion rarely are generalisations justified.
"But it seems to me that this case serves to send a dire warning to all burglars who break into the houses of other people. The law is that every citizen is entitled to use reasonable force to prevent crime.
"Burglary is a crime and a householder in his own home may think he is being reasonable but he may not have been, and that may have tragic consequences."
Martin was jailed for 10 years on the charge of wounding Fearon with intent and one year for possessing the shotgun without a firearms certificate. Both sentences were concurrent.
In a day of extraordinary tension and drama, the jury's unanimous verdict of not guilty to attempted murder had been greeted with howls of outrage and cries of "They cannot do that," by the gipsy families in a court packed with police armed with CS spray and batons, stationed between the victims' families and supporters and the dock.
It was to be another three hours before the final verdicts were returned and Martin sentenced.
Martin shot Barras and Fearon after they broke into his farmhouse at Emneth Hungate, searching for antiques in August last year.
They were carrying a holdall containing a chisel, torch, baseball cap and gloves and had been driven 70 miles from Newark for the raid by Darren Bark.
Martin fired three shots from a 12-bore pump-action Winchester shotgun. He had been burgled before and had threatened to "blow their heads off" if they had returned and talked of machine-gunning gipsies, the court heard.
He denied he was "hell-bent on revenge". He sobbed as he told the court how he felt "ter-rified and vulnerable".
He said he had been woken in bed by the noise of intruders, picked up his shotgun in the dark and fired without warning when a light was suddenly shone into his face. "I did not intend to hit them. I was not protecting my property but myself," he said.
However, ballistics experts told the jury that the shots had not been fired from the staircase as Martin had claimed and the Crown accused him of lying in wait downstairs for the intruders to arrive.
Barras was hit in the back from a range of 15 feet, but dragged himself out of the house and died in the grounds of the farm, where his body was discovered 15 hours later.
Fearon suffered shotgun wounds to both legs. Fearon was jailed earlier this year for three years for his part in the break-in and Bark, 33, the getaway driver, was sentenced to three and a half years.