Michael Jacob: Verdict revealed in trial of man accused of burning down Southport barbershop
A man who denied burning down his own barbershop has been told the verdict in his trial. Read what the jury decided - and his reaction.
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A Gold Coast man accused of burning down his own barbershop business has been found guilty by a jury.
Michael Jacob, 45, was convicted of one count of arson in Southport District Court on Thursday.
The jury found he deliberately lit the fire that destroyed his business, the Don Traditional Barbershop, in the early hours of June 28, 2020.
There was a previous alternate allegation that Jacob had procured a second person with him at the barbershop that night to light the fire.
It took the jury less than three hours to reach their verdict on Thursday.
Jacob pleaded guilty to a second charge of attempted fraud at the beginning of his trial, in relation to lies told to his insurance company in the weeks following the fire.
He showed little emotion as the final decision was read out to the court, and said only “No, thank you” when asked if he had any reason as to why he should not be sentenced on both charges.
His lawyer Michael Gatenby told the Bulletin that Jacob’s legal team would be reviewing evidence and decisions made throughout the trial in the lead-up to the sentencing.
Jacob’s matter will next be mentioned on January 19 and a sentencing date listed later in the new year.
He will be remanded in custody until his sentence proceedings.
Final evidence in barbershop arson trial
December 6: A GOLD Coast father who admits trying to defraud his insurance company but denies allegedly burning down his own business is days from learning his fate.
Michael Jacob is accused of setting or instructing someone else to light a fire that gutted the Don Traditional Barbershop on June 28, 2020.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of arson at the start of his trial in Southport District Court last week.
But the 45-year-old pleaded guilty at the same time to attempted fraud, admitting he lied to his insurance company in the weeks following the fire.
Jacob claimed in court on Monday the blaze was accidentally started by another person who was helping him clean the barbershop in the early hours of the morning.
Defence barrister Tony Kimmins urged the jury in his closing address on Tuesday to separate his client’s attempted fraud from other evidence when trying to reach their verdict.
“He’s admitted to telling lies – the mere fact you have admitted to telling lies does not make you an arsonist,” Mr Kimmins said.
“I’m going to suggest to you that you won’t ever get to a stage that you don’t believe anything he says, even if you take the worst view of what he has to say and what my learned friend says to you.”
Mr Kimmins said scientific evidence heard throughout the trial suggested the fire had started in the back of the store, where later testing revealed traces of flammable liquids.
He said these could have been low-odour kerosene or mineral turpentine in addition to methylated spirits, which Jacob previously said were used to clean his shop.
“There was nothing in the three samples taken and analysed from the barbershop that would be considered foreign to that environment,” Mr Kimmins said.
“Mr Jacob indicated to the investigator he kept chemicals on the floor that equals or equates what (the analyst) found in the three samples provided.”
Mr Kimmins claimed it was difficult to explain what Jacob and his alleged accomplice were doing at the shop in the almost two hours before the fire if not cleaning.
He said the prosecution’s case was “entirely circumstantial”, and the jury should give little weight to allegations that Jacob set the fire for financial gain.
“People don’t usually destroy their own property unless they have a reason and a motive to do it” Mr Kimmins said.
“What kind of evil, criminal genius mastermind would go and set fire to his property for financial motive, which included the loss of his fit-out of $100,000 and whatever stock was in there.
“The fact he was then liable for the remainder of the lease payments, the fact he still had to earn a living to feed his four children and wife, and despite his best endeavours to make some money, he ended up losing in that financial year just under $60,000.”
Mr Kimmins said jurors should believe Jacob’s testimony that he lied to police and insurers about not knowing who started the fire because he wanted to protect the person responsible.
Evidence heard during the trial has also suggested Jacob could have been influenced by the PTSD he suffers after being kidnapped in Iraq in 2004.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher claimed Jacob instead lied in an attempt to avoid bringing the law down on himself.
She said his stories on how the fire started, why he was at the barbershop that night, and even his kidnapping in Iraq nearly 20 years ago had all been inconsistent.
“You might think he worked hard to remove himself as a factor of the equation about why he lied,” Ms Gallagher said.
“You might think his refusal to accept what is really a reasonable proposition is because he wanted to avoid being associated as someone who would lie to get himself out of trouble.
“You might think, ladies and gentleman, that’s exactly what he was doing yesterday in the witness box.”
Ms Gallagher claimed CCTV footage of Jacob after getting home showed him calmly unpacking valuable items he had taken from his shop before the fire.
She said the scientific evidence and testimony from other witnesses about Jacob withholding rent payments and wanting to end his lease during the first months of Covid were clear evidence of his motive.
“You might think there can’t be any part of him that could have seriously considered (anyone) was in trouble for an accidental fire,” Ms Gallagher said.
“Coming clean to the police and not lying to the insurers, you might think that would be the preferable course for any adult.
“I’d suggest you reject his account he lied to protect (his alleged accomplice) and instead, when he lied about his whereabouts, it’s because he knew the truth would implicate him in arson.”
The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday.
December 5: A man accused of setting fire to his own barbershop has revealed lies told to police and claims trauma from being kidnapped in Iraq in sensational trial testimony.
Michael Jacob allegedly lit or orchestrated the fire that destroyed his Southport business, the Don Traditional Barbershop, in the early hours of June 28, 2020.
The 45-year-old pleaded not guilty to one charge of arson at the beginning of his trial in Southport District Court last week.
He has admitted – in the same proceedings – a second charge of attempted fraud, in relation to false representations made to his insurance company when claiming damages.
Jacob was the first witness to give evidence when his defence counsel opened their case on Monday.
He told the court he cut his son’s hair the afternoon before the fire, and had tidied the store before locking up and going home.
Jacob said he and another person returned to the business before midnight and spent about two hours moving furniture and thoroughly cleaning the store, using products including methylated spirits.
“I was doing cupboard cleaning and cleaning the shop, and folding the towels, and I was emptying the display cabinet and taking some stuff from the shop,” Jacob said.
He claimed he was outside smoking when the person with him dropped a lit cigarette in the back laundry area, where he had ‘metho’ and cleaning towels soaked in the accelerant.
“(They) ran out and said, ‘Unlock the car from here’,” Jacob said.
“I went inside near the till. I’ve done a tidy up next to the till, I’ve turned around to turn the TV off, and I’ve realised I can see a bit of smoke and flame coming up.”
The court was told Jacob had previously said he saw flames coming from the dryer vent and thought the fire could have started there.
Jacob said he struggled to escape from the business but finally made it back to his car, and he and the other person fled from the scene.
He claimed he tried to call triple-0, but the other person was begging him not to as they believed the fire was their fault and they would be in trouble with the police.
It was this same protectiveness Jacob said was his motivation to lie to both police and insurers about returning to his barbershop the night of the fire.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher questioned why Jacob did not correct the version of events he had given to authorities, in which the blaze was “clearly an accident”.
“I was an idiot, I wasn’t thinking – I was scared and wanted to protect (them),” he responded.
Jacob also refuted evidence heard earlier in his trial that he was looking to sell his premises, and said he “wasn’t after any money” from his insurer.
Ms Gallagher claimed Jacob had changed and exaggerated his story throughout the investigation in an effort to protect himself, rather than anyone else involved.
“You told police you suspected someone – you didn’t need to do that,” she said.
“What you did was try to manipulate the police into investigating someone entirely different.
“You’ve lied all the way up to the very moment of your criminal trial, and now you’re trying to say you’re telling the truth.”
Jacob also told the court being close to the fire and hearing what he thought was an explosion triggered post-traumatic stress disorder he had suffered from being kidnapped in Iraq in 2004.
He told the court he was visiting family and friends in his home country when he was surrounded by gun-wielding men.
“They came running to me with the guns and hit me over the head with the gun, and they put a bag over my head,” Jacob said.
“They took my passport and put me in one of the cars, I couldn’t see anything.
“I was there for a few days. The next day they took the bag off my head and said, ‘You’re going to watch this’, and cut off two people’s heads in front of me and put them in a box.”
Several photos of a shirtless and injured Jacob were shown to the court, which defence barrister Tony Kimmins said were used to demand a ransom for Jacob’s safe return.
The court heard Jacob’s family and various government bodies eventually rescued him.
Evidence was also heard on Monday from a psychiatrist Jacob began seeing in June, who confirmed the father-of-four showed signs of chronic PTSD as a result of his Iraq ordeal.
The psychiatrist said the condition could have pushed Jacob to lie about the circumstances of the fire.
Jacob’s brother was the final defence witness called on Monday.
He and Jacob had returned to the business the afternoon of the fire and retrieved “whatever was salvageable” from the burnt-out property, including cash from the register and other supplies, the brother said.
The trial will continue on Tuesday.
December 2: A Gold Coast man who denies accusations of burning down his own barbershop suffered a profit downturn the month of the fire, a court has been told.
Michael Jacob is accused of deliberately lighting or instructing someone else to start the fire that ripped through his Southport business, the Don Traditional Barbershop, on June 28, 2020.
He pleaded not guilty to one charge of arson at the beginning of his trial in Southport District Court.
But the 45-year-old pleaded guilty to a second charge of attempted fraud, in relation to false representations made to his insurance company in the weeks following the fire.
Witnesses called during Friday’s proceedings included one of the first firefighters to arrive at the scene and Detective Sergeant Mitchell Dodd, who spearheaded the police investigation.
The court was told that the ceiling collapsed only a few minutes after firefighters gained entry to the building.
It was heard fire crews noted charring patterns suggesting the blaze could have started in the back area of the shop.
Det Sgt Dodd said Jacob was told the day after giving his statement at the police station that he was a suspect in the arson investigation, as a vehicle similar to one of Jacob’s was seen outside the barbershop in CCTV footage from the night of the fire.
Jacob was detained while police searched his Helensvale home, seizing his car and other items that were later returned.
The court was told detectives also seized a CCTV hard-drive, which was missing “deleted material” from Jacob’s home until about midday the day after the fire.
Det Sgt Dodd said this footage was recovered by July 10, 2020, close to two weeks before police again searched Jacob’s home and subsequently arrested him.
He confirmed officers seized an Apple watch and close to $30,000 in cash during the second search, which were again later returned to Jacob.
The final prosecution witness called was DE Accountants director Elvis Rajic, who said he had managed Jacob’s business accounts for about seven years.
He said the 2020 financial statements shown to the court, which showed Jacob consistently turning a profit, were prepared with “the knowledge available at the time”.
These documents indicated that while Jacob had cleared about $2000 and $6500 after expenses in April and May respectively, this figure dropped to $952 in June, 2020.
Defence barrister Tony Kimmins is expected to open his case on Monday, with Jacob to be called to give evidence.
The trial will continue next week.
December 1: A MAN accused of burning down his own barbershop has claimed he “thought he was dreaming” when he received the call about the fire, a court has heard.
It is alleged Michael Jacob deliberately lit or instructed someone else to set a fire that destroyed his business, the Don Traditional Barbershop, on June 28, 2020.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of arson on the first day of his trial in Southport District Court this week.
Jacob pleaded guilty to a second charge of attempted fraud.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher said in earlier proceedings that the basis of Jacob’s guilty plea was his denial of knowing anything about how the fire started in talks with his insurance company.
Most of Thursday’s delayed proceedings were dedicated to playing hours-long recordings of Jacob’s discussions with insurance representatives as he tried to finalise his claim.
Jacob could be heard saying he remembered locking up his shop and going home the night before the fire and that he and his family went to bed by about 11pm.
He said he “thought (he) was dreaming” when he was woken by a phone call about the blaze, and barely remembered driving himself to the scene.
The father of four said he spent an hour-and-a-half filing a report with police that morning.
Jacob told insurers he could have had a 15L bottle of ‘metho’ used for cleaning in the back area, and dirty clothes in the laundry could have had traces of other accelerants such as cologne or wax.
In the final parts of the recording, Jacob could be heard saying he had never defaulted on his mortgage or car payments and had never received threats against his business.
“I want to reopen as soon as I can – this is my mancave, this is my life, this is the money I make,” he said in the recording.
Jacob repeatedly answered “no” when asked whether he had any knowledge of who was responsible for the fire, including whether he had started it himself or organised for someone else to do so.
Another several prosecution witnesses are expected to take the stand on Friday.
Jacob is also yet to give evidence.
The trial will continue on Friday.
November 30: A FIRE that destroyed a Southport barbershop was highly unlikely to have occurred “without human intervention”, a court has been told.
Michael Jacob is accused of deliberately lighting or instructing someone else to light the blaze that burnt down his business, the Don Traditional Barbershop, on June 28, 2020.
The 45-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of arson at the beginning of his trial in Southport District Court this week.
He pleaded guilty to a second charge of attempted fraud in relation to false claims made to his insurance company in the weeks following the fire.
Queensland Police scientific officer Steven Torrisi gave evidence on Wednesday about his investigation of the scene.
He said the building structure and barbershop contents all became more damaged towards the back of the shop, suggesting the fire had started in the rear staffroom and laundry areas.
Images of the extensive fire damage were displayed to the court throughout Sgt Torrisi’s testimony, showing parts of the ceiling had collapsed and appliances or furniture in the back areas of the store were almost completely incinerated.
Sgt Torrisi told the court that debris samples taken from several parts of the scene indicated one of the most likely causes of the fire was a combustible substance being ignited.
“The amount of damage in that laundry (and) staffroom area was so much greater that the fire had to develop very quickly with a high heat release,” he said.
“A high heat release, some sort of liquid vapour explosion – I couldn’t come up with a scenario where that could occur without human intervention.”
Sgt Torrisi said it was not possible to determine from the scene alone whether this was accidental or deliberate.
Brief CCTV footage from a neighbouring shop at the time of the fire was also played to the court, which Sgt Torrisi said seemed “supportive” of an explosion sparked by liquid vapours.
Jacob’s defence barrister Anthony Kimmins suggested these vapours could have come from cleaning agents such as methylated spirits, which Sgt Torrisi agreed were being heavily used at the time due to Covid.
The QPS forensic scientist who analysed the debris specimens gave evidence on Wednesday as an expert witness.
She confirmed that two kinds of ignitable liquid residue were found in all three samples, including methylated spirits and another compound that could have come from products such as mineral turpentine or low-odour kerosene.
The court was told the testing instrument was overloaded by the amount of residue found in two of the samples, but there was no way to quantify how much was found or how long it had been there.
Evidence was also heard from Fabrizio Bagalotti, the owner of Southport shopping complex Mercato on Ferry where the barbershop was run.
He said Jacob was looking to rent out a recently-vacated lot backing onto his own in the months leading up to the fire, but it was soon leased to a higher-paying tenant.
Mr Bagalotti told the court he and his father were also having a disagreement with Jacob through that initial Covid period, as he wanted rent relief without providing documentation to show his business had suffered a loss.
Text messages from the Bagalottis to Jacob were read to the court, including: “Please pay your rent and outgoings as requested by the property manager” and “Please do the right thing, as your business has done very well for you and your family over the years.”
Mr Bagalotti said Jacob had caught up on his payments by the time of the fire.
Other witnesses on Wednesday included a customer of Jacob’s, who was learning to cut hair at his business in the fortnight leading up to the fire, and another business owner in the Southport complex who said he was approached by Jacob to take over his lease months earlier.
The business owner said Jacob told him he no longer wanted to run his operation there, and asked for $20,000 for his shopfront in addition to taking on the lease.
The court was told Jacob had also allegedly been threatened with legal action by his landlords if he continued to withhold rent payments during Covid lockdowns.
Mr Jacob’s trial will continue on Thursday.
November 29: A GOLD Coast businessman accused of burning down his barbershop has denied being involved in lighting the fire but admitted trying to defraud his insurance company afterwards.
Michael Jacob pleaded not guilty to one count of arson at the beginning of his trial in Southport District Court on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to a second charge of attempted fraud in the same proceedings.
It is alleged Mr Jacob or a person procured by him deliberately lit the fire that destroyed his business, the Don Traditional Barbershop, on Ferry St in Southport. It burnt down in the early hours of the morning on June 28, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher claimed in her opening arguments on Tuesday that if Mr Jacob did not light the fire himself, he instructed a person who was known to him and at the scene with him that night.
Forensic evidence taken from the scene showed traces of chemicals commonly found in kerosene or methylated spirits in areas of the barbershop, she said.
“ (Mr Jacob) spoke to an officer in charge of this entire investigation and said he’d left (his business) at 6.30pm the night before and hadn’t returned,” Ms Gallagher said.
“He stated he didn’t cause this fire, he didn’t know anything about it.”
Ms Gallagher said CCTV footage played to the court would show Mr Jacob and another person at his Helensvale home in a car allegedly seen outside the barbershop near the time of the fire.
The jury heard Mr Jacob’s relationship with his landlord had deteriorated in months leading up to the fire, and he had tried to have another tenant take over his lease.
Ms Gallagher said Mr Jacob’s attempted fraud was trying to claim insurance money after denying knowing how the fire started.
“He knew something about this fire,” she said. “Evidence suggests Michael Jacob wasn’t a man desperate for money. He in fact had three cars – one of them a Mercedes – and when police went around to his house, they found $30,000 in cash.
“You’ll hear him go through his financial position with his insurer (and) talk about his business turning a pretty decent profit.”
The court was told Mr Jacob’s premises was insured for contents up to $80,000 and stock up to $20,000.
Defence barrister Anthony Kimmins, instructed by Gatenby Criminal Law, said his client told “some untruths” to insurers in trying to claim money in weeks following the fire – but that was not evidence that he started it.
“He did not set fire to the shop or any item in the shop, nor did he join in a plan or assist anyone to set fire to the shop,” Mr Kimmins said.
“The fact he pleaded guilty to attempted fraud cannot, in our respectful submission, be used to substitute guilt for the offence of arson.”
First responders called to the scene on the night of the fire were among the witnesses to give evidence on Tuesday.
The court heard fire crews were told to not saturate the site as it was expected to be declared a crime scene, and there were no signs of forced entry noted by investigators later that morning.
A cupboard usually storing razors and other items sold to customers was found open and with the items inside missing after the fire, the court was told.
The person allegedly at the barbershop with Mr Jacob that night was also called as a witness on Tuesday.
They did not answer questions from the prosecution or defence parties about their whereabouts on the night of the fire or alleged involvement, instead claiming their privilege under law to not give a response that could be self-incriminating.
Other witnesses expected to give evidence throughout proceedings include a fire investigator, a forensic scientist, and Mr Jacob.
The trial will continue on Wednesday.
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