Houston councilman Kubosh alerted police to murder-for-hire plot Kubosh contacted Houston police chief because he feared 'someone was going to get hurt'

Leon Phillip Jacob is shown his attorney George Parnham in the Harris County 263rd Criminal Court during a bond hearing Wednesday, March 29, 2017. He and his girlfriend, veterinarian Dr. Valerie Busick McDaniel, who killed herself on Monday, are accused of trying to hire hit men to kill their exes. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle ) less Leon Phillip Jacob is shown his attorney George Parnham in the Harris County 263rd Criminal Court during a bond hearing Wednesday, March 29, 2017. He and his girlfriend, veterinarian Dr. Valerie Busick ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip Photo: Melissa Phillip Image 1 of / 56 Caption Close Houston councilman Kubosh alerted police to murder-for-hire plot 1 / 56 Back to Gallery

Houston City Council member Michael Kubosh - in his role as a bail bondsman - alerted police to an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving a prominent Montrose veterinarian and her boyfriend scheming to kill their exes.

Kubosh, who supplied the bail bond for a stalking charge for Leon Phillip Jacob, told police in February that he was troubled by things Jacob said about the case, Harris County District Attorney investigator Jimmy Turpin said in court Wednesday.

Kubosh said Wednesday after the hearing that he believed 39-year-old Leon Phillip Jacob was asking for help in a covert plan.

"He told me that he paid somebody quite a bit of money to take care of this matter," Kubosh said. "I felt like he was trying to implicate me in something."

Kubosh, who has been a councilman since 2013, became alarmed and contacted Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo directly.

The explosive new details emerged during a hearing Wednesday as state District Judge Jim Wallace considered - then rejected – a request that Jacob be released on bail in a case that has made international headlines.

TROUBLED DOCTOR: Things to know about Valerie Busick McDaniel

Kubosh said after the court hearing the case has been very stressful for him and has kept him up at night.

"I was afraid that someone was going to get hurt," he said.

Jacob has remained in the Harris County jail since he was arrested earlier this month with his girlfriend, popular Montrose veterinarian Valerie Busick McDaniel, on charges of solicitation of capital murder. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison.

McDaniel, who was released on $50,000 bail, killed herself Monday by leaping from her seventh-floor condominium.

During Wednesday's hearing, district attorney investigator Jimmy Turpin detailed the allegations and named Kubosh as the man who alerted police.

TRAGIC END: Montrose vet kills herself while awaiting trial in murder-for-hire case

Turpin testified that Jacob told Kubosh he had paid a man named Zak to find a hitman to get rid of his ex-girlfriend so she would not testify against him. Jacob believed Zak was a former Kubosh client, and said he hired the councilman in hopes of getting a current phone number for Zak.

Police traced the man's phone number to a former Kubosh client, who police say served as the middleman. He has not been charged with any crime.

The middleman worked with authorities to introduce Jacob to an undercover police officer masquerading as a hitman, Turpin said.

At a meeting at the Olive Garden on Buffalo Speedway, Jacob and McDaniel agreed to pay for the abduction and murder of Jacob's ex-girlfriend, who had filed charges against him, investigators said.

Prosecutors said McDaniel then offered to pay to have her ex-husband killed in what would look like a carjacking-gone-wrong.

Police staged a crime scene with the intended victims to offer photos as proof the pair had been killed.

After seeing the crime scene photos and paying off the supposed hitman, Jacob told the undercover officer that he may need his services again in the future, Turpin testified.

TARGETED: Lawyer: Ex-husband was intended victim in alleged murder-for-hire case

The couple was accused of meeting with the undercover officer at an Olive Garden restaurant, where they allegedly agreed to pay $20,000 and two Cartier watches after the deeds were done.

The undercover officer alerted the intended victims, McDaniel's ex-husband and Jacob's ex-girlfriend, of the scheme. They worked with officers to stage fake crime scene photos to seal the deal, prosecutors said.

After seeing the photos, Jacob and Busick paid the officer and were arrested March 10.

Lawyers for Jacob are expected to tout his education and ties to the community. His mother was McDaniel's divorce lawyer and apparently introduced the couple. She has not returned calls for comment.

Kubosh said he also met McDaniel because she was a co-signer on Jacob's bond after he was arrested on the stalking charge. She asked Kubosh to take her name off the bond after she was arrested for solicitation of capital murder, McDaniel asked Kubosh to take her name off the bond.

On Wednesday, Jacob, a washed-out surgical resident with a history of stalking and domestic violence accusations in Texas and Illinois, appeared in court in an orange jail uniform.

Defense attorney George Parnham touted Jacob's medical school education and ties to the community. Parnham said Jacob had worked as a transplant physician in the past but was selling health insurance when he was arrested. He did not testify.

A day after McDaniel killed herself, Jacob filed a request with the court to leave jail to attend the funeral. Wallace denied the request. On Wednesday, Wallace ruled that Jacob would remain in jail without bail pending trial.

Prosecutor Nathan Moss argued that Jacob was free on bail for two other charges when he was arrested for trying to kill the witness in those cases. He labeled him a "danger to society" in asking the judge to deny bail.

After the ruling, Wallace called Jacob to the bench to clarify his attorney of record. Parnham had apparently been hired by the family, while lawyer Paul Morgan had been hired by Jacob.

Asked who he wanted as the lead attorney, Jacob shrugged.

"My life is on the line and I would like them to work together," he said.