Bilal Elzamtar, Jason Khoury kept lookout during Sydney attack

A businessman begged for his life during a brutal robbery in which he was slashed, tied up, kicked in the head and lost consciousness. Two men have now been sentenced for watching for police during the bashing.

Two men have been sentenced to jail over keeping look-out to a brutal robbery which left a businessman begging for his life.

The victim was slashed with a knife, tied up, punched, kicked in the head and lost consciousness before having his foot driven over by a car.

Bilal Elzamtar was slapped with an aggregate head sentence of three years and six months behind bars while his co-accused Jason Khoury was sentenced to two years jail in the Downing Centre District Court on Thursday.

The court heard that at about 2:40am on June 22, 2020, the pair acted as a lookout while three masked men hid being a bollard while the victim got inside his car at his home.

Reading aloud from the fact sheet upon sentencing, Judge Jennie Girdham said the victim was told his family would be injured if he did not reveal his unit number and he “felt a knife slash through his left arm”.

The facts state the victim was tied, punched and photographed.

Judge Girdham said one of offenders put a knee to his head.

“CCTV captured one offender carrying a red baseball bat,” she said.

“The assault continued and the victim’s swipe card was taken… the third offender stood on his neck and further assaulted him. The victim states he temporarily lost consciousness.”

Police say that after the victim refused to give his unit number, the offenders stopped the assault before one of them reversed a car onto the victim’s foot. The facts say the victim contacted his wife and police and was taken to hospital.

Among the items allegedly stolen include $10,000 in cash, a $15,000 watch and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

In sentencing Khoury for being an accessory before the fact (robbery in company), Judge Girdham said the facts show he could not have known what would have been stolen and that “it is submitted he did not seek out the role but accepted the role when the opportunity presented itself”.

She said it was a difficult sentence to decide on because accounts differed as to Khoury’s prior knowledge of the plan.

According to the fact sheet read by Judge Girdham, Khoury told police he had been out for dinner on the night of the robbery and said “all I did was follow [my friend] to Brighton-Le-Sands,”.

But she said that given his plea of guilty, “that is not so”.

“There is no evidence he received any reward,” she said.

The pair said they were looking out for police during the robbery

“I proceed on the basis he was at scene with knowledge [the robbery was occurring]. He remained in car and kept lookout for police in area.”

Judge Girdham noted that Khoury had previously struggled with a gambling and substance abuse issues and faced other difficulties including his wife’s lost pregnancy, a failed investment in a restaurant and family difficulties stemming from his father’s escape of Lebanon’s civil war when he was aged six.

She discounted the sentence for accessory before the fact (robbery in company) by 25 per cent due to his guilty plea and backdated it to 20 April 2021 for the time he has already spent behind bars. He will be eligible for parole on July 19.

Upon sentencing Bilal Elzamtar, Judge Girdham noted he was subject to both a firearm prohibition order and an intensive correction order at the time of the offences.

Elzamtar pleaded guilty to charges of accessory before the fact (robbery in company) and knowingly take part in the supply of firearms.

“It is agreed he became a lookout appreciating such an offence was to be committed,” Judge Girdham said.

“He was present at the scene knowing the victim would be confronted with no less than two men and threatened with physical violence if he did not hand over the property, namely the watch.”

Judge Girdham noted there was contention from the defence about the role Elzamtar played in the firearm supply.

Police allege he sent photos of a Mini-14 gun and magazines and a pump action shot gun on both the encrypted Cipher phone app and Snapchat using the handle Still In Action.

“I proceed on the basis the offender cannot be the person demonstrated to have sent the images and therefore orchestrated the supply,” Judge Girdham said.

However Judge Girdham considered the report made by Elzamtar’s psychologist Professor Woods when sentencing on this charge.

“The offender told Prof Woods he was present at the scene for support ‘just in case something went wrong’,” Judge Girdham said.

“He responded affirmatively that he knew firearms were there to be used for criminal purposes.

“(Elzamtar said) ‘I know this sounds funny but where I come from if you don’t help a friend, you’re not a real friend and that can lead to trouble’.”

Judge Girdham said as Elzamtar received “no reward other than kinship” for his role in the offending it “demonstrates a deep affiliation to his criminal associates”.

Elzamtar appeared in court via videolink and sat with his head bowed throughout the proceedings.

He was convicted on both charges. He received a non-parole period of two years and four months making him eligible for release on July 19, 2023.