It’s your own fault homeowner shot you, judge tells career burglars

Joshua O’Gorman and Daniel Mansell, who have a string of convictions between them, were blasted with a legally owned shotgun by householder Andy Ferrie as they attempted to ransack his isolated farm cottage in the early hours of September 2.

They pleaded guilty to the break-in in Welby, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and were each jailed for four years by Judge Michael Pert QC at Leicester Crown Court.

Sentencing the pair, the judge told them that, in his opinion, the injuries they suffered when Mr Ferrie opened fire, O’Gorman was shot in the face and Mansell was hit in his right hand, were not included as part of their sentence or defence.

“I make it plain that, in my judgment, being shot is not mitigation. If you burgle a house in the country where the householder owns a legally held shotgun, that is the chance you take. You cannot come to court and ask for a lighter sentence because of it,” he said.

He was responding to mitigation from Andrew Frymann, representing O’Gorman, who said that being shot was for his client akin to a “near-death experience” for which he was not prepared. His injuries left him with blurred vision in his eye, severe pain and problems with his balance.

Replying to Mr Frymann’s suggestion that O’Gorman was traumatised by the experience, Judge Pert said the arrest of Mr and Mrs Ferrie on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after the shooting could be considered just as disturbing.

“Some might argue that being arrested and locked up for 40 hours is a trauma,” he said.

Mr Ferrie, 35, and his wife Tracey, 43, were held in custody for nearly two days after Mr Ferrie called police to tell them he fired his shotgun at the intruders. The couple were later bailed and told they would not face criminal charges.

Mansell, 33, and O’Gorman, 27, both from Leicester but with no fixed address, appeared in the court dock each wearing a grey sweatshirt and showing physical evidence of the confrontation. The scar from the gunshot wound was clearly visible on the right side of O’Gorman’s face and Mansell had his arm in a sling.

Opening the case for the crown, prosecutor Alan Murphy said Mr and Mrs Ferrie, who were not in court because they are out of the country, went to bed at their isolated farm cottage as normal on the evening of September 1.

Mr Ferrie locked and secured their home before going to bed but it was not long before they were woken by noises inside their home.

“On the 2nd of September, when he and his wife Tracey were asleep in bed, they were disturbed by noises, banging coming from downstairs. There was clearly an intruder or intruders in their house,” Mr Murphy said.

“They investigated. They went from their bedroom, downstairs, and on their way down Mrs Ferrie took hold of the couple’s lawfully held shotgun and gave it to Mr Ferrie. They went downstairs and described seeing three males in the hall or kitchen area wearing some kind of face covering.

“One of the males, suspected to be Mr O’Gorman, was about to reach into a drawer in the kitchen which, they were aware but he probably was not, held a number of knives, as can be expected in a kitchen.

“As a result of that, Mr Ferrie fired his shotgun. Mr O’Gorman was hit in his face, Mr Mansell in his hand. The burglars fled without actually being able to steal anything.”

The court heard that Mr Ferrie immediately called police to tell them what had happened and when they arrived he and his wife were arrested.

Police officers began searching for the intruders and alerted Leicester Royal Infirmary to see if anybody had presented themselves with shotgun injuries, Mr Murphy said.

At around 2am that same morning, O’Gorman arrived at the hospital with shotgun pellets in his face and was arrested by officers. Mansell arrived a few hours later, at around 7am, with pellet wounds to his right hand and was also detained by police.

The men planned the burglary because they were told that nobody would be at home and that there was a substantial amount of drugs and cash on the property, Mr Murphy said.

Both claims were entirely incorrect, he told the court.

Mansell was released from prison in May last year after serving part of a six-year sentence for wounding with intent. In total, his criminal record consisted of eight convictions involving 19 offences, Mr Murphy said.

O’Gorman has 16 convictions involving 27 offences, many for dishonesty and driving offences.

Both were on licence at the time of the offence.

Commenting after sentencing, a spokesman for Leicestershire Police said: “Police have carried out a detailed inquiry into this incident, including forensic investigation of the scene, input from ballistics experts and extensive interviews with all parties involved. It is right that all incidences of this nature are looked at thoroughly and professionally.

“The decision made by the Crown Prosecution Service, after reviewing all the evidence, was to take no further action against the homeowners involved.

“We are unable to comment any further as we have an ongoing investigation with three men currently on police bail.”