Zachary Joseph Weir pleads guilty to manufacturing explosives at Andrews Farm address

The homemade explosive devices a dad made with mates out of “inquisitiveness” could have caused serious injury according to the Bomb Response Unit, a court has heard.

An Andrews Farm refrigeration worker made two explosive devices with friends out of “inquisitiveness and gross foolishness”, a court has heard.

Zachary Joseph Weir, 36, appeared in the District Court of South Australia earlier this week charged with a count of the manufacture, and possession, of explosive devices after he used firecrackers and ball bearings at his property on September 4 last year.

On Monday, the court heard the matter had been resolved after Weir’s arraignment, where he pleaded guilty despite initially entering a not guilty plea in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in May.

A court heard in September last year firecrackers were wrapped together with duct tape and cable ties with a fuse inserted.

At the time defence lawyer Vanessa Cream argued Weir was just “mucking around”.

However, on Monday for the prosecution, Ms Taylor said there were a “series of items located at the address which resembled fireworks or other homemade explosive devices”.

Zachary Joseph Weir leaves Adelaide Magistrates Court in May. Picture: Ben Cameron

Later, two items were identified as explosive devices by the Bomb Response Unit which “had the capacity to cause serious or significant injury to anyone present if the devices exploded”, the court heard.

Both devices had ball bearings attached to their cylinders which “would have increased capacity for potential for harm”, Ms Taylor told the court.

“He made admissions to taking active steps to manufacture one of the devices himself,” she said.

“(However) there is no submission coming from the prosecution that there was any intention in terms of malice or otherwise in using these devices to harm others.”

For Weir, Edward Stratton-Smith said it was “unlikely something like this will happen again” and the father of two had worked on the explosives with two friends.

The District Court heard Zachary Joseph Weir had pleaded guilty to the charges. Picture: Ben Cameron

“There was no malice intended, no intention to hurt anyone else,” Mr Stratton-Smith said.

“Really this was a culmination of inquisitiveness and gross foolishness.

“The defendant accepts what he did was very dangerous but he didn’t set out to harm anyone and he very much regrets what he’s done.

“He didn’t realise the law treated this as seriously as it quite rightly does.”

The court heard Weir, who came from a “loving family” and worked for a refrigeration parts supply business, had spent four days in custody over the offending.

“It is important that other people don’t behave this way with dangerous substances,” he said.

The matter returns for sentence in February.