Court refuses to grant bail to accused bomb maker Aaron Ellis
A judge has refused to grant bail to a suburban grandfather accused of making bombs, saying the potential threat the 43-year-old poses to the community cannot be assessed.
A suburban grandfather accused of making bombs cannot be released on bail, and must remain in custody, because the potential threat he poses to the community cannot be assessed, a judge says.
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Martin Hinton overruled a ruling, made in May, that Aaron Ellis be released on strict home detention bail.
Ellis, 43, of Davoren Park, has yet to plead to charges of possessing and manufacturing explosives arising from a raid on his home in April.
His liberty has been in limbo for several months because Justice Hinton gave SA Police additional time to present evidence and disprove Ellis’ insistence he is not dangerous, merely curious.
On Tuesday, Justice Hinton said that time had come and gone without further clarity.
He said that required him to take a “conservative” approach to the case and overturn Ellis’ freedom — at least until the entire case against him was known.
“I had cause for concern in assessing the risk Ellis poses to the community … I’m in no different position than I was on the last occasion, through no fault of Ellis nor his counsel,” he said.
“I had hoped that, in the intervening period, the police would be in a position to closely analyse their evidence and form a view to assist the court.
“For one or another reason, that has not occurred (and so) the risk cannot be determined in a hearing such as this … this is one of those cases where it’s necessary to hear the evidence in full.”
The allegations against Ellis arise from a raid on his Heytesbury Rd home during which police allegedly found a highly volatile substance known as “Mother of Satan”.
It has the chemical name of TATP triacetone triperoxide and was allegedly found in a container in the freezer inside Ellis’ shed.
The alleged discovery prompted the controlled detonation of the substance — in four, 10-minute intervals — that afternoon.
At the time, police said the incident was “not terrorism-related” while Ellis family said he was a “loving man” with a “passion for chemistry” and making smoke bombs.
His counsel, meanwhile, dubbed him a man with a “curiosity” for chemistry and physics with no intent of causing harm nor damaging property.
They succeeded in winning him bail from the Elizabeth Magistrates Court — prosecutors then asked the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.
On Tuesday, Justice Hinton said the lack of clarity hampered his decision-making with regard to bail.
“The case is a very serious one and, obviously, concern for the public and its protection weighs heavily in my mind,” he said.
“Bearing in mind there’s only six weeks until (Ellis’ next court hearing) and, at that time, the prosecution must finalise its position, I’m minded to grant the application (and revoke bail).
“A further bail application to the Magistrates Court can be made, in the normal way, in six weeks’ time.”
Ellis was remanded in custody until September.