‘I’ll kill you tonight’: Bendigo man Jia Meeks makes bid for freedom after alleged threat to murder

A Bendigo man charged with threatening to kill a man while on bail for an alleged spear attack has applied for bail again, leaving his alleged victims “terrified”, a court has heard.

Jia Meeks applied for bail at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court after being charged with making a threat to kill.

A Bendigo man is accused of threatening to kill his alleged victim while on bail for allegedly “violently assaulting” another man with a spear.

Police allege Jia Meeks threatened to murder two people on Tuesday at a home in Spring Gully, Bendigo.

Mr Meeks allegedly accused a man of sleeping with his ex-partner before pulling a knife on him and saying “I will kill you tonight”.

“I’m waiting for the universe to tell me, I need to kill you to be successful,” he allegedly said.

Police also allege Mr Meeks threatened to murder another man, saying: “I’m going to do (complainant) properly – I’m just trying to find the right time.”

Mr Meeks faced Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday applying for bail.

Relying mainly on his aboriginality, Legal Aid argued “the risk of harm and trauma” incarceration would have on Meeks should take priority over the safety of the community and the alleged victims.

His legal advocate also argued that the accused had an acquired brain injury which further made him vulnerable in custody and he should be released to engage with mental health services.

Police allege Jia Meeks threatened to kill a man while holding a knife.

Legal Aid asked that Mr Meeks be released on bail “for only a week” to “see how he goes”.

“Although it may expose the community to short term risk”, locking him up would halt any progress towards rehabilitation and “potentially comprises the safety of the community in the long term”, his lawyer argued.

Police opposed bail, arguing the risk he posed if released was unacceptable and nothing short of remand would stop him from committing any further alleged violence.

The court heard Mr Meeks was on bail for allegedly attacking one of the men with a spear, leaving him with serious injuries.

The complainant of the alleged spear attack said he was living in “absolute terror” that Meeks would be released from custody and come for him.

The court heard Mr Meeks family was “terrified of him”, alleging his violence had escalated over the last five years.

They believe “he will kill someone” and “none of them are willing to support him”, police told the court.

Magistrate Megan Aumair, who had worked with Mr Meeks several times before in the court system, told the accused that she had previously tried “very hard” to help him stay out of trouble.

She said his Aboriginality weighed heavily on her decision, as well as the social and economic disadvantage he had experienced and his “long and lasting issue with drugs and other substances”.

“I try every single day to keep Aboriginal people out of custody,” she said.

However, she said had to balance his personal circumstances against the risk to community safety the “disturbing” allegations posed.

Ms Aumair found there were “no exceptional circumstances” to justify his release, and that he was an unacceptable risk to the community – refusing his bail.