Bill Jakob was down on his luck. He had a record in Illinois as a sex offender, was an out-of-work truck driver, filed for bankruptcy in 2003 with debts almost $200,000 and in 2007 he was found liable for $600,000 in damages in the death of a six-year-old boy who ran out into the road and Jakob ran him over. That was overturned and he is in the middle of an agreement to a $50,000 insurance settlement with the little boy’s mom.
Bill Jakob told the mayor and police chief of Gerald, Missouri that he had worked as an anti-drug agent in Illinois. He even had a badge and gun in addition to a fully equipped Crown Victoria that he said was used in undercover work. They called a number that Jakob gave them for verification and the woman they spoke with said Jakob had worked with the task force. I guess the town of Gerald doesn’t do any kind of background checks on their police officers. Hell, I live in a small town and they do background checks here…A couple of things they might have found had they bothered to do a simple criminal background search for less than $30 was the fact that he pleaded guilty in 1994 to misdemeanor sex abuse and also paid a fine for having sex with an underage girl. It also would have turned up his financial woes as well as the lawsuit in the death of the little boy.
I knew Bill about 5 years ago… He was a normal everyday guy. I was in the Army with him and his stories did sometimes seem a little out there but he never did anything to hurt anyone. He just told big stories. It just totally blew my mind when I saw him on the news. I worked right next to him everyday forever. I think he is at heart a good guy… He just needs some help. And he had a few problems at the end of his Army time and if the Army had addressed the problem then he may not be in the mess he is now. But you know the Army… Lets just get rid of him and sweep it under the rug and then say “No Comment” when anyone asks about him. Way to take care of your service members. They knew about the problem and did nothing so in my opinion they are part to blame.
I know Bill Jakob, as well. I also happen to know this guy lies about everything. I know he has cheated on his wife. I know he lies to everyone. He even lied to one of his mistresses saying he was getting a divorce from his wife. I feel so sorry for all the people that he lied to. I pray to God he pays for what he did and that he also gets some major mental help.