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I just absolutely dont get it. Someone breaks in, drops a baby on the floor, touches the wife, flees outside, attempts to fight his way BACK IN AGAIN and they want to charge the homeowner?!?!
This gives good mojo to the S.S.S. theory for sure.
A man who admitted stabbing a suspected burglar with a bread knife to protect his wife and child is being investigated for assault.
Antonio Caeiro, 33, who said he wounded a 19-year-old intruder at his home in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said yesterday that he would do the same again to defend his family.
The incident has similarities with the case of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for shooting dead a teenage burglar in 1999.
The suspected burglar in this case is being treated in hospital where he is described as being in a serious, but stable condition. Mr Caeiro, a pub manager, claimed he stabbed the intruder in the chest and leg with the 12-inch knife in self defence as they struggled in his kitchen before the teenager fled.
Mr Caeiro, who is from Portugal, said: "All I was doing was acting in self defence. This man had entered my home and I felt he might harm me or my family. Of course I am sorry that he was hurt, but he had no right to be in my house. If I had to do the same thing again to protect my family then I would do it.
"I thought he was going to kill me or rape my wife. Anyone in my position would have done the same thing. I understand why the police had to arrest me - but I have done anything wrong."
Mr Caeiro claimed he was woken by his 28-year-old wife's screams at 2am on Saturday when the burglar came into their bedroom.
He said the 6ft tall intruder had pulled away their 14-month-old daughter's cot from the side of their bed causing the child to fall on the floor and cry.
Mr Caeiro said: "This man was kneeling at the side of my bed and started touching the legs of my wife.
"My wife woke up screaming and then I woke up. The man then ran downstairs and went out through the kitchen door."
Mr Caeiro, who is 5ft 6ins, rang 999 to report the break-in and was told by police that because the intruder was no-longer believed to be in the house they would be there in 15 to 30 minutes.
He said: "I looked out into my yard and saw a shadow. I was frightened and I grabbed the bread knife from a rack because my first thought was that I had to stop my family being harmed. I opened the back door ... then this man attacked me with a metal bar.
"He hit me on the shoulder and I was knocked back into the kitchen. The door opened and the man tried to come inside.
"I stabbed him in the leg and then we ended up fighting and I stabbed him in the chest.
"We fought for about a minute outside ... then he managed to break away and run down the alley at the back of my house."
Mr Caeiro said he tried to call the police again, but got no reply. He then called a friend who alerted police officers who arrived three minutes later.
The intruder was arrested near by on suspicion of burglary. Police also arrested Mr Caeiro on suspicion of assault, and later released him on bail pending further inquiries.
The police will investigate the case and can decide not to charge Mr Caeiro. Alternatively they can send a file of the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service which will decide whether there is a case to answer and whether it would be in the public interest to prosecute.
Mr Caeiro said he was making arrangements to move to a new home in Great Yarmouth because he fears reprisal attacks.
The incident is certain to rekindle debate about how far someone can go to defend their own home, which went to the heart of the case of Tony Martin. Mr Martin, of Emneth Hungate, near Wisbech, served a three-year jail sentence for killing 16-year-old Fred Barras and wounding Brendan Fearon after they broke into his home at Bleak House farmhouse.
I just absolutely dont get it. Someone breaks in, drops a baby on the floor, touches the wife, flees outside, attempts to fight his way BACK IN AGAIN and they want to charge the homeowner?!?!
This gives good mojo to the S.S.S. theory for sure.
A man who admitted stabbing a suspected burglar with a bread knife to protect his wife and child is being investigated for assault.
Antonio Caeiro, 33, who said he wounded a 19-year-old intruder at his home in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said yesterday that he would do the same again to defend his family.
The incident has similarities with the case of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for shooting dead a teenage burglar in 1999.
The suspected burglar in this case is being treated in hospital where he is described as being in a serious, but stable condition. Mr Caeiro, a pub manager, claimed he stabbed the intruder in the chest and leg with the 12-inch knife in self defence as they struggled in his kitchen before the teenager fled.
Mr Caeiro, who is from Portugal, said: "All I was doing was acting in self defence. This man had entered my home and I felt he might harm me or my family. Of course I am sorry that he was hurt, but he had no right to be in my house. If I had to do the same thing again to protect my family then I would do it.
"I thought he was going to kill me or rape my wife. Anyone in my position would have done the same thing. I understand why the police had to arrest me - but I have done anything wrong."
Mr Caeiro claimed he was woken by his 28-year-old wife's screams at 2am on Saturday when the burglar came into their bedroom.
He said the 6ft tall intruder had pulled away their 14-month-old daughter's cot from the side of their bed causing the child to fall on the floor and cry.
Mr Caeiro said: "This man was kneeling at the side of my bed and started touching the legs of my wife.
"My wife woke up screaming and then I woke up. The man then ran downstairs and went out through the kitchen door."
Mr Caeiro, who is 5ft 6ins, rang 999 to report the break-in and was told by police that because the intruder was no-longer believed to be in the house they would be there in 15 to 30 minutes.
He said: "I looked out into my yard and saw a shadow. I was frightened and I grabbed the bread knife from a rack because my first thought was that I had to stop my family being harmed. I opened the back door ... then this man attacked me with a metal bar.
"He hit me on the shoulder and I was knocked back into the kitchen. The door opened and the man tried to come inside.
"I stabbed him in the leg and then we ended up fighting and I stabbed him in the chest.
"We fought for about a minute outside ... then he managed to break away and run down the alley at the back of my house."
Mr Caeiro said he tried to call the police again, but got no reply. He then called a friend who alerted police officers who arrived three minutes later.
The intruder was arrested near by on suspicion of burglary. Police also arrested Mr Caeiro on suspicion of assault, and later released him on bail pending further inquiries.
The police will investigate the case and can decide not to charge Mr Caeiro. Alternatively they can send a file of the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service which will decide whether there is a case to answer and whether it would be in the public interest to prosecute.
Mr Caeiro said he was making arrangements to move to a new home in Great Yarmouth because he fears reprisal attacks.
The incident is certain to rekindle debate about how far someone can go to defend their own home, which went to the heart of the case of Tony Martin. Mr Martin, of Emneth Hungate, near Wisbech, served a three-year jail sentence for killing 16-year-old Fred Barras and wounding Brendan Fearon after they broke into his home at Bleak House farmhouse.
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