Shannon Martin: Wangaratta family man sentenced over role in 2017 attack on mate’s love rival

A Wangaratta man was meant to stop his mate going “off his rocker” at a love rival, but instead did nothing to stop the violent attack.

The last of four mates to face the music over the bashing of a small town love rival in 2017 is now a dedicated, hardworking family man, a court has heard.

Shannon Martin, 29, of Wangaratta was on Wednesday sentenced to a three year community corrections order with 150 hours of unpaid community work for failing to stop three work mates from turning a small town love rivalry into a violent brawl.

The Shepparton County Court heard Martin, who pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, was the least to blame for the September 2017 bashing of Beejay McGarry in his home on Jonagold Crt, Shepparton.

Martin’s co-offenders, Brandon May, Joshua McLean and Daniel Knight, each previously pleaded guilty to more serious charges of home invasion and causing injury, and are serving community corrections orders with 400 hours of unpaid community work each.

Shannon Martin has been sentenced to a three year community corrections order over his low level role in an attack on Beejay McGarry, a love rival to his best mate. Picture: Supplied

Martin’s barrister said his client became involved in the love feud when he went along with a drunk McLean to “stop (him) doing anything stupid”.

Instead, Martin stayed out the front of the house while the other three men made their way inside and attacked Mr McGarry.

Judge John Smallwood said he accepted Martin “didn’t want to let his mate go off his rocker”.

“(But) you can’t have three blokes flying through the door bashing someone,” he said.

Judge Smallwood said Martin had been set to be the best man at McLean’s wedding until his fiancee left and took off with Mr McGarry.

The afternoon of the attack, the three mates were at a party, where “alcohol was drunk and conversation got to the nature of (Mr McGarry’s) relationship” with the woman.

The “revved up” mates then went to Mr McGarry’s house, where he was watching TV with his new flame.

Mr McGarry was sent “through the window” and clobbered in the head with a Jim Beam bottle as Martin stood out the front of the house.

“The offending has to be regarded as serious,” Judge Smallwood said.

The court heard that in the four years since the attack, Martin had become a father, worked full time as a meatworker and looked after his kids on the weekend.

He said Martin shouldn’t have let his sense of “misplaced loyalty” to his mates lead to him breaking the law.

“They could have made a real mess of that fella if they really wanted to,” he said.