Source : Perth Now news
A man convicted of possessing explosives following a Crime Stoppers report was merely a fireworks enthusiast, a court has been told.
Nathan Kranixfeld, of the Adelaide Hills, was arrested in February last year after an anonymous tip-off sparked a police search of his home.
Officers attended the home he shared with his parents on February 17, 2025, and seized two explosive devices from his bedroom.
Adelaide’s District Court was told that one of the devices was egg-shaped, while the second was cylindrical and wrapped in aluminium foil – with both having potential to cause harm if detonated to close to a person.
At an earlier court hearing, Kranixfeld, 42, pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing and manufacturing explosive devices, having altered one of the devices.
However, he was spared a custodial sentence and discharged from court without further punishment, having already spent a year under home detention awaiting the case’s conclusion.
Sentencing Kranixfeld, Judge Joana Fuller, said the court had heard no evidence that he had intended to use the devices in a “sinister” way.
Instead, she said that Kranixfeld, a self-employed concrete worker, was simply a fireworks enthusiast who had “forgotten” the devices were in his possession.
“I accept your account that you had an active interest in fireworks and that you did not possess them for nefarious or sinister purposes,” Judge Fuller said.
“There is no evidence you had any bad intentions – you had a long-term interest in creating and maintaining fireworks and this was your hobby.
“You ought to have realised the dangerous of storing them at the home you shared with your parents.”
The court was told that at a previous hearing, Kranixfeld had provided a letter of apology for the incident.
In this, the father of two acknowledged the incident had “caused his family embarrassment”.
“In your letter of apology you said you had no excuse and did not factor in the risk involved in it,” Judge Fuller said.
“You said the last year has given you much time to reflect on your actions and say you have caused stress and embarrassment for your family.”
