A grandad was tragically killed after a van was deliberatly driven at him and his friends. The ordeal happened after Martin Breeze, 57, travelled to pick up his son, Shaun, who had an altercation with a group of people including victim Brian Darby.
Shaun had been out on his push bike to buy cocaine when he cycled into Kelly Jordan on the footpath on February 9 last year. Two people who were with her at the time shouted and swore at Shaun, who shouted back and said he had a knife.
The men chased 30-year-old Shaun, who came off his bike and rang his dad in a panic. Martin had been taking drugs before arriving at the scene in Ingleby Barwick, North Yorkshire, minutes later in his Berlingo van.
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Shaun Breeze pointed out the group to his dad who mounted the pavement and drove into them. After the collision, the father and son drove off, abandoning the van. Shaun later rang the police to report that the van had been stolen.
Mr Darby was sadly declared dead at the scene. Four of Mr Darby’s friends, who had been walking home with him after a night at the the 3 Rivers bar, suffered serious injuries. Martin Breeze was convicted of Mr Darby’s murder after standing trial in July last year. He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of the four other people and perverting the course of justice, TeesideLive reports.
His son Shaun appealed his initial convictions and had the charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent overturned. He was found guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Darby as well as three counts of grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.
Mr Darby’s daughter, Kayleigh Chapman, told Teesside Crown Court on Monday, January 13, that the trial “could have been avoided if Martin and Shaun Breeze had taken responsibility for what they did”. Ms Chapman said that her dad was “incredible” with her children and that he was “my son’s favourite person in the world.”
She added that her dad was someone who “lit up the room and would go out of his way to talk to people.” She said: “My dad was a completely innocent bystander. For us, there is no closure.” Prosecutors and defence teams agreed that the murder was not pre-meditated.
The judge told Martin Breeze: “The decision to drive at the group was made on the spur of the moment, when Shaun pointed out the group and you decided to drive at them in revenge. There is only one sentence for murder and that is life. It is very likely that you will die in prison.”
Martin Breeze, of Irthing Close in Ingleby Barwick was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 32 years, for the murder of Brian Darby; the attempted murder of Kelly and Brandon Jordan; of Will Keates and of the younger boy; in addition to perverting the course of justice.
Judge Justice Jacobs says that he “is not ordering that Martin Breeze is released at the end of that sentence – that is a matter for probation.” Martin Breeze is taken out of court by security and led downstairs to the cells.
The judge told Shaun Breeze, who has autism, that he is “not persuaded that your disorder reduces your culpability.” He says that a medical report by Dr Harry Wood is “circumspective” when it states that Shaun Breeze’s autism “may have affected his decision making that day.”
He said: “You assisted your father to drive his van at a group of pedestrians. You knew he had been drinking and taking drugs all day.”
Shaun Breeze, of Owls Grove in Ingleby Barwick, was jailed for 16 years for the manslaughter of Mr Darby; for causing grievous bodily harm to Kelly Jordan; Will Keates and the younger boy; and for perverting the course of justice. He will serve two-thirds of his sentence, before being released on licence.