Jail call after man admits to bombs
A Bunbury man has admitted making six batches of the dangerous explosive TATP in his garage after finding a recipe for it on the internet.
Magistrate Elizabeth Hamilton deferred a prosecution request yesterday to send Ben Mcdonald Roberts to a higher court, saying she wanted to watch his police interviews before making her ruling.
Roberts, 33, pleaded guilty to seven charges in Bunbury Magistrate's Court yesterday, including five of making the explosive under suspicious circumstances and two of endangering the life, health or safety of a person.
Police say Roberts made about 10kg of TATP but his lawyer Derek Hunter disputed this.
The court was told he made six packages of TATP between July 1 and October 28 in Bunbury.
He found the recipe on the internet and made the bombs using chemicals that were easy to buy.
He exploded some TATP around the South West but abandoned two packages that did not explode in the Leschenault Inlet.
A fisherman found one package and it was taken to Bunbury Police Station.
A small sample exploded after police tested it as drugs, causing minor injuries to an officer.
The package was then taken to Gloucester Park and safely detonated. A navy diver exploded the other package underwater in the inlet.
The court was told Roberts had no intent to cause harm or destroy property with the bombs.
Mr Hunter said Roberts had "no idea" of the explosive's volatility and did not know it was TATP until his police interview.
He said Roberts left the packages in the water because he thought it "wouldn't be a danger to anyone" but had been "foolish" and "stupid" and regretted his actions.
Prosecutor Graham Pidco said Roberts should be jailed for his blatant disregard for safety.
The case will return to court on February 17.
