Court told lawyer threatened to kill wife via text messages

AS a lawyer, Leonard Jacob is no stranger to court rooms. But it is a series of threatening texts to his wife, where he allegedly threatens to kill her and another man, that have landed him on the wrong side of the dock. READ THE TEXT MESSAGES

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A LAWYER allegedly told his wife he was a member of the Assyrian Kings crime gang and demanded she get him $500,000 or both she and another man would be killed.

The alleged violent tone of multiple messages he sent to his wife and his alleged membership of the street gang are completely at odds with Leonard Jacob’s position in society as a Bankstown-based immigration lawyer who studied at Sydney University.

And it has landed him in Fairfield Local Court charged with assault, three counts of stalking and intimidation and another of demanding property with menace.

The court heard he is preparing to fight the charges.

According to a police fact sheet tendered to the court, Mr Jacob demanded his wife Sandra get the money in a series of furious texts between midnight and 4am on October 3.

Bankstown-based lawyer Leonard Jacob allegedly sent threatening messages to his wife.

According to the fact sheet, Mr Jacob allegedly told his wife “U and him f**ked with the wrong Assyrian King” before demanding she tell a man called “Greg” to come up with the payment.

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The reason for Mr Jacob demanding such a payment is yet to be revealed in court.

When contacted, Mr Jacob said: “There is no comment.”

The details of this strange case emerged last Friday when Mr Jacob’s lawyer Omar Juweinat asked Magistrate Philip Stewart to amend his bail conditions to allow some contact between the lawyer and his wife.

Mrs Jacob gave evidence and told the court she wanted to move back in to the family home, explaining that she did not fear for her safety or that of her children.

Despite opposition from the police prosecutor, Magistrate Stewart granted the bail variation.

According to the police documents, Mr Jacob allegedly sent a text to his wife at 3.16am on October 3 and said he was preparing to kill her and Greg “unless u tell him to give me $500k and I’ll forget”.

“Or else he will see a grave,” Mr Jacob allegedly wrote.

“And you too.”

He allegedly repeated the demand two minutes later, texting “I am happy to go to hell any time”, before threatening to bring a gun to their home.

“And I’ll bring the gat (gun) home tonight to show u … I am ready to die,” he allegedly wrote.

“Tell Greg I’m coming.”

At 3.34am, Mr Jacob allegedly sent another text telling his wife he is a member of the Assyrian Kings crime gang.

“Think about that when u ring him tomorrow and tell him ur husband is a King, ready to f**k god and go to hell for his anything.”

Mr Jacob’s found himself on the wrong side of the dock in Fairfield Local Court where he faced charges including assault, stalking and intimidation. Picture: Ian Svegovic

The Assyrian Kings gained infamy in 1997 when the gang was held responsible for the murder of police officer David Carty at Fairfield. The group was thought to have dissolved but reformed under the name DLASTHR (The Last Hour).

The texts do not make it clear what the dispute is about.

“U think Greg scares me?” he allegedly wrote at 2.24am.

“His wife will soon find out.”

He also texted: “I don’t give a f**k how many Ibrahims he knows.”

Mr Jacob was also charged with assaulting his wife on two other occasions, on September 22 and September 25.

On the first occasion, police allege he said to his wife: “You don’t talk back to me, you might talk to other people like that, but you don’t speak like that to me. You get on your knees and you apologise.”

Police allege that once the woman got on her knees, Mr Jacob punched her in the head.

The matter will return to court on November 30.