(UK) Father stabs violent intruder and is arrested 08-17-04

Address:http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=552313

Murder suspect is arrested in woods
I would do it again, says father who stabbed intruder
By Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
17 August 2004

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.