Burglar shot by killer farmer Tony Martin breaks silence and says 'he was protecting his home'
Burglar shot by killer farmer Tony Martin breaks silence and says 'he was protecting his home'
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A burglar shot and wounded by farmer Tony Martin broke his 20-year silence to reveal: "I have no anger or bitterness.". Brendan Fearon, speaking after Martin's death aged 80, told how the shooting in 1999 initially did nothing to deter his life of crime and he went on to re-offend. But the criminal, now 54, told the Mirror how he was reformed, and Martin's death was "sad" and the "end of a chapter". He believes that the reclusive farmer - who never returned to his home - "probably suffered as much in his life as I have" after the horror shooting at his remote home, saying "I feel for him and his family". Brendan was injured during the raid at Martin's isolated farm and his 16-year-old accomplice, Fred Barras, was shot dead.
The crime sparked fierce national debate after Martin was jailed for murder. But Brendan, who still suffers "terrible pain" from the wounds to both his legs, said: "Life’s not been kind to me but it was much crueler to little Fred, who lost his life, and his family. But I have never felt any bitterness or animosity towards that farmer. He did what he had to do to protect himself and his home. "I’m not saying he should have shot someone dead - that’s wrong - but he felt persecuted by us and we shouldn’t have been there. His place had been robbed 10 times before and it was an easy target. I have no anger.".
Teen burglar Fred was killed and Brendan, then 29, wounded after the pair broke into Martin's home at Emneth Hungate on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border on 20 August 1999. The farmer was convicted of murder and sentenced in 2000, but an appeal reduced the offence to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. At his trial, Martin claimed to have been acting in self-defence while prosecutors argued he had anticipated the pair and lay in wait for them.
He was jailed for three years and released in 2003 and the controversial case led to a change of the law on self defence. Martin always insisted he had no remorse or regrets for shooting the teenager dead and never returned to his home, called "Bleak House". He died on Sunday after having a stroke in December last year. Brendan, who described his co-accused Fred as a "good-hearted little rogue", said he learned Martin had died after "someone in town came up to me and said he had passed and it was 'the best thing for him'". Brendan said: "But I didn’t feel that. He’s got family and friends out there mourning his loss.
"If we’d never gone to his place he wouldn’t have committed any crime, there would have been no shootings and no killing. He wasn’t the only one to blame. But he lived to a good old age, it's sad he’s gone but it’s the end of a chapter.". Brendan, who feared he was going to die in the attack, underwent constructive surgery to repair one of his shattered legs and still has a "huge gaping hole" in the other.
But his injuries didn’t stop him continuing his life of crime. He was in and out of prison over the following years for offences including supplying heroin and car theft. He claimed he couldn’t work because of the shooting. But he admitted: "I was a bad lad and being shot didn’t stop me! I’ve been in and out of prison over 14 years for burglary, theft, drugs, assault and stuff. "Three years was for the Tony Martin offence. I pleaded guilty to burglary. I’ve done it, I shouldn’t have, so see what I get.' But I finally learned my lesson, crime doesn’t pay and I’ve been out of trouble for the past 20 years, not bad.".
Brendan said the stigma of the case has never left him and he believes the public still judge him. Brendan, who lives in Nottinghamshire, says he has now left behind his criminal past, telling the Mirror in his first ever newspaper interview: "I keep myself to myself and don’t want any bother." He has held down various jobs over the past including labouring, carpet fitting and being a door to door salesman.
He said: "I’m a good bloke now. I've changed. I’m grounded. I want to work and not feel like a dosser but no one wants to give me a job because of who I am." Brendan has lost both his parents to cancer - his half Jamaican father and white mother. He dotes on his own family and keeps healthy and fit by working out. Brendan said: "My family means everything to me and I feel sorry for Fred's mum who lost her only son when he was just a kid. I kept offending for years after that but jail did eventually rehabilitate me and I came to think that if I offended again Fred would have died in vain. So I stopped, for myself, my family and in Fred’s memory.".
He claims that on that fateful night nearly 26 years ago - which has sparked huge debate - he had "no intention" of robbing the farmer. He said: "I was out with Fred and a driver and I thought I was going to help the lad sell some of some stuff he has stolen and kept in a lock up somewhere. "I was a dad myself at the time and a father figure to little Fred, I wanted to help him get a good price for his gear." The trio ended up trespassing and he and Barras were targeted while the driver got away. Reliving his terrifying ordeal, Brendan, who was hiding with three Rottweiler dogs running loose, said: "I thought I saw a silhouette and a flash of light.
