Police deemed Adelaide man’s firecracker as an ‘improvised hand grenade’, court hears
An Adelaide man who was found with a firecracker containing nearly 150 nails inside bought the device from a Gumtree seller, who told him it would make a “big boom”, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A man who was found in possession of a firecracker filled with rocks, gravel and nearly 150 nails bought the device because he was told it would make a “big boom”, a court has heard.
Konrad Kosznik, 36, was riding his bicycle in Paralowie when police stopped him in June last year and found the crude explosive device in his backpack.
Six months earlier, Kosznik bought clothes from a seller on Gumtree, who also sold him the firecracker for $50, defence lawyer Alex Panousakis said.
“At the time, he was told that the firecracker in question would make a big boom,” Mr Panousakis told Adelaide District Court judge Michael Boylan on Thursday.
Mr Panousakis asked for “significant leniency” ahead of sentencing, saying there was no suggestion Kosznik had the explosive to cause harm.
“With due respect to Mr Kosznik, (it) is an offence that arises out of stupidity and naivety more than it does out of malice,” he said.
“He instructs that if he was ever going to use (the explosive), all he ever would have done with it was take it to a paddock somewhere … just to see how big the bang that it would make was.
“He had no other need or use for it than that.”
The prosecuting lawyer told Judge Boylan that a bomb squad officer found dangerous “shrapnel” inside the firework, consisting of rocks, gravel and 146 nails.
“It turned the device into what was effectively an improvised hand grenade,” the prosecutor said.
“The officer ultimately opined that the explosive device posed a significant hazard to anyone within 10 metres of the device.”
The prosecutor agreed Kosznik did not possess the firework for malicious purposes, but the offence was still “objectively serious”.
“This is an offence that calls for a strong element of general deterrence,” he said.
“The defendant was plainly aware the device contained nails, as such, there is a prominent need for personal deterrence.”
Kosznik previously pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing an explosive device in public without a lawful excuse.
Judge Boylan will hand down his sentence next week.