Petra’s ex Stunt ‘paid woman in gold for visit to gem raid home’
TYCOON James Stunt met up to five women a week and ordered his head of security to pay one of them with a gold bar, a court heard.
Mr Stunt’s former bodyguard Justinas Ivaskevicius, 34, is accused of stealing a £515,000 diamond ring along with £50,000 in cash from the safe at his £10million home in London’s Belgravia.
His ex security chief Gabriel Lekwarat told Southwark crown court: ‘I was told to meet a lady at St John’s Wood near a pub and give the gold bar to her.’ He said he ‘didn’t know and didn’t ask’ what it was for but said he had paid her cheques ‘ once or twice’ on previous occasions.
Mr Lekwarat told police that
‘up to five women a week’ came to 38-year-old Stunt’s home following his divorce from Petra Ecclestone – daughter of former Formula One supremo Bernie and mother to his three children.
He said there had been several ‘visits’ in the run up to the discovery of the missing ring and cash – along with two blue diamonds, a pink diamond, a large white diamond, six 1kg gold bars and a Cartier engagement ring. The security guard said he was surprised at his boss’s reaction when he was told he had potentially lost £90million worth of gems. ‘When there’s a slight scratch on one of his cars Mr Stunt goes ballistic but he didn’t look very shocked,’ Mr Lekwarat added.
The witness told jurors how Mr Stunt’s godfather, notorious north London crime boss Terry Adams, visited the house after the raid. Michael Lavers, defending, told Mr Lekwarat: ‘You said people will never steal anything because they are terrified of Terry Adams.’ He replied: ‘Terry Adams came in and told me, “Make sure you guys sort it out”, and walked off. He was very upset.’
Martin Bowyer, prosecuting, told the court how, six months after the theft, the missing diamond ring turned up for sale at the Gemological Institute of America in New York. Ivaskevicius was arrested at his home in Fallowfield, Cambridge, and detectives found £80,000 in cash. He denies theft, two counts of possession of criminal property, carrying a British driving licence with improper intention and producing a controlled drug, namely cannabis and four counts of handling stolen goods. The trial continues.