The cop hating father of two brothers who allegedly bashed a high-ranking transport cop in Melbourne is a convicted criminal who has done time behind bars.
Jared Pihlgren was charged on Wednesday afternoon with recording court proceedings, intimidating law enforcement officers and use a telecommunication device to menace.
He is expected to front the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court shortly.
The charges come a day after he was described in court as having ‘an extreme hatred for the police’ and had not co-operated in assisting with his sons’ arrest when contacted by detectives last Sunday.
His sons, Jay Stephens, 20, and his younger brother Isaiah, 18, are accused of brutally bashing 60-year old Transit and Public Safety Command Assistant Commissioner Chris O’Neill.
Mr Pihlgren was pictured outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court as his sons stand accused of bashing a police officer
Jay Stephens (left), 20, and Isaiah Stephens (right), 18, were arrested at Malvern East on Monday at 3.45pm and were charged with the savage bashing of the cop
Pihlgren supported them in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and slammed police with a scathing Facebook post.
He wrote on Facebook on Tuesday: ‘I’d p*** on you Chris O’Neill ya maggot dog. I got zero respect and you know why.
‘F*** the police and your crew ya swine. You attack mine, god help yours.’
‘Cops want war let’s start gang land killings again,’ Pihlgren wrote underneath his Facebook status.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Pihlgren had been under investigation for posting a photo on social media of two policeman inside a Victorian magistrates’ court.
‘Winner winner, chicken dinner, attack of the oompah loompahs,’ he posted to his Facebook page, under the name Jared Pilgren, in February.
Taking a photo of anyone inside of a Victorian court is deemed contempt of court and punishable by jail time.
But prison is no stranger to the big mouthed, cop-hating father of the two alleged cop bashers.
He has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1992 when he was charged with threatening to inflict injury and breaching intervention orders.
Jay and Isaiah had been on board a train when passengers complained they had been vomiting and urinating inside a carriage, Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill said
He was jailed in 1998 for six months – three of which were suspended – over a swag of charges, including assault with a a weapon, assault by kicking, assault with an instrument, intentionally damaging property, possessing a weapon and theft.
He has also failed to comply with court orders, breaching community orders.
His swag of convictions include careless driving, affray, making threats to kill and burglary.
The photograph of the police officer he posted on social media in February coincides with about the time he was to complete a year-long community corrections order for burglary and dishonesty offences where he was to undergo 200 hours of community work.
Outside court on Tuesday, Pihlgren would not comment when pressed about his sons’ alleged actions.
The boys’ father Jared Pihlgren (pictured at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court) wrote on Facebook: ‘I’d p*** on you Chris O’Neill ya maggot dog. I got zero respect and you know why’
Jared Pihlgren has a public hatred for police. Here he takes a swipe at police in another Facebook post from one of his accounts
But he instead turned the focus on Mr O’Neill and repeatedly asked: ‘Why did he follow them?’
The Herald Sun reported he called Mr O’Neill ‘a dog’ and suggested he had deliberately targeted his sons.
In court, police allege his sons kicked and punched the dedicated policeman and left him with three fractured ribs near Melbourne’s Heyington train station on Saturday.
Police released a CCTV image of the alleged thugs at the station as they searched for the culprits.
When police raided the Stephens’ boarding house in Malvern East on Monday, the boys climbed out a window and ran before they were arrested, the court heard.
Police found locks of hair in their bedrooms, a magistrate was told.
They appeared in court with shaved heads.
Off-duty cop Mr O’Neill had confronted his attackers near the station after they were kicked off a train for anti-social behaviour, the court heard.
A policeman told the court that Jay Stephens ‘tried to start a fight’ and threw several punches.
His brother then allegedly joined in and punched Mr O’Neill from behind before they ran off.
The brothers fronted court charged with intentionally causing reckless injury.
Jay was refused bail and Isaiah made a bail application for Friday and will remain in custody pending a later court appearance.
‘F*** the police and your crew ya swine. You attack mine, god help yours,’ Mr Pihlgren wrote on Facebook
The father of two brothers charged with assaulting a transport police officer near a Melbourne train station has threatened to bash the cop in a Facebook post
Mr O’Neill was taken to hospital where he was treated for cracked ribs and serious head injuries following the incident.
He has since been released.
The brothers had been on board a train when passengers complained they had been vomiting and urinating inside a carriage, Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill said.
Jay and Isaiah then got off the train at Heyington station and allegedly came into contact with Mr O’Neill, who was off-duty at the time, once they left the station.
Assistant Commissioner Chris O’Neill (pictured), 60, was kicked and punched in the head and chest near Toorak’s Heyington Station around 5.30pm on Saturday
Inspector Stephen O’Donnell said the men appeared to be ‘looking to cause trouble’.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos this week shared her disgust over the unprovoked attack.
‘It is absolutely appalling that we’ve had someone who was just going about their day in an unprovoked attack, attacked and assaulted and injured,’ she told The Age.
‘My thoughts are with Chris O’Neill and his family as as he’s recovering from this senseless attack.’
The pair had allegedly come into contact with Mr O’Neill, who was off-duty at the time, once they left the station