A Flynn man who led police on a chase in a stolen vehicle confessed to having explosives, telling officers "you better be careful with what is in that car" and "you might want to evacuate the building".
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Matthew James Jenkins, 28, faced in the ACT Magistrates Court for several days this week, charged with unauthorised possession of firearms, possessing ammunition and unlawful possession of stolen property, to which he pleaded not guilty.
He also pleaded not guilty to two counts of unauthorised possession of a prohibited dangerous substance over sticks of gelignite, or blasting gelatin. found in the same car.
The latter two charges were dismissed after the prosecution conceded the "commercially available" gelignite was not prohibited or dangerous.
Jenkins had previously pleaded guilty to a range of driving offences and two counts of property damage.
All charges related to an incident in June 2021, when Jenkins and a 31-year-old Taylor woman, in a stolen black Porsche, led police on a chase that ended in the garage of a residential apartment building in Bruce.
Jenkins was driving the stolen car when police began the pursuit, during which Jenkins collided with a police car while it was making a U-turn.
The Porsche was finally stopped by tyre deflation devices after Jenkins drove through a closed garage door, and both he and his female passenger were arrested separately.
After Jenkins' arrest, he admitted to police officers that he had sticks of gelignite in the car, which a search of the car uncovered.
Along with the explosives, police found an electrical detonator, a detonator cord, two rifles and ammunition in the back seat of the car, and stolen car keys and fobs in the boot.
Jenkins' barrister, Steven Whybrow, instructed by Thomas Tiffen of Hugo Law Group, argued the admission should be excluded as evidence as it was a "spontaneous utterance" Jenkins made while he was unfit to be interviewed.
Mr Whybrow also told the court Jenkins had been assaulted by officers during his arrest and was not properly cautioned by police.
Body-worn camera footage also showed police swearing at Jenkins calling him a "c---" and a "f---ing dog", which magistrate Glenn Theakston responded to by saying: "I'm surprised witnesses weren't cringing when they heard what their colleagues were saying while in the witness box."
Mr Whybrow also told the court Jenkins "did not have knowledge of the existence of firearms or bullets in the car" as it was not the 28-year-old's vehicle.
Prosecutor Nathan Deakes responded by arguing "if he had knowledge of the gelignite, he would have known about about the firearms and ammunition," because they were in the back seat next to each other.
Mr Theakston found Jenkins guilty of unauthorised possession of firearms and possessing ammunition, but found him not guilty of unlawful possession of stolen property.
He ordered a pre-sentence report and continued Jenkins' bail ahead of sentencing on September 23.
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