Konrad Kosznik jailed for 12 months over homemade hand grenade that was potentially lethal to anyone within 10 metres
He insists he’s “no terrorist, just stupid” but a judge says his excuses for having a homemade grenade are lies – and he’s going to prison.
Police & Courts
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A man caught with a potentially lethal homemade grenade in his backpack – who insists he is “not a terrorist”, just “really, really stupid” – has been jailed for 12 months.
On Thursday, the District Court dismissed Konrad Kosznik’s litany of excuses as “implausible” and said he deserved a prison term for endangering the lives of others.
Judge Michael Boylan said experts agreed Kosznik’s grenade was so dangerous that, had it detonated, it would have “posed a significant threat” to anyone within a 10m radius.
“There is no reasonable explanation for your possession of that improvised hand grenade,” he said.
“Even if you did not intend to use it for sinister purposes, if it came into the hands of others it could have caused great harm, and I sentence you on that basis.
“My first duty is the protection of our community.”
Kosznik, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an explosive device – containing rock, gravel and 146 nails – in public without lawful excuse.
Following his arrest in June 2019, Kosznik insisted he bought the device from a Gumtree seller for $50, believing it was a “firecracker”.
He said he had bought it out of nostalgia for his childhood in Poland, where fireworks are legal, and had only wanted to “hear the boom”.
“I don’t make bombs, I’m not a terrorist … I’ve never harmed anybody in my life, I don’t have any enemies,” he told the court last week.
“I feel really, really embarrassed and stupid – really, really stupid.”
On Thursday, however, Judge Boylan said that was but one of numerous excuses Kosznik had given since his arrest.
Others included “a mate” making the grenade, then “a random” being responsible, and finally someone Kosznik “didn’t really know that well”.
He said a jar in Kosznik’s room, containing nails similar to those inside the grenade, also weighed against the veracity of his claims.
“I do not accept your explanations, nor do I accept the evidence you gave (in court) which I find implausible,” he said.
Judge Boylan said he would have jailed Kosznik for 15 months if not for his guilty plea, and imposed a non-parole period of six months.
He also refused to suspend the sentence, or to order it be served on home detention, saying the offending was too serious.