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SA govt wants to restrict siege man

The man who staged a 40-hour siege in South Australia in 1994 will soon be released from jail and the government wants tough restrictions on his movements.

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Source: AAP


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The South Australian government has moved to toughen restrictions on a man who will be released from jail next week over a 40-hour siege in 1994 in which a police officer was shot 14 times.

Tony Grosser is due to be released on April 18, and the SA government has asked the Supreme Court to declare him a high-risk offender under new legislation and have him subject to strict supervision.

Mike Wait, for the attorney-general, asked the court to impose interim restrictions on Grosser's movements, including electronic monitoring, and to order a medical report saying Grosser still had underlying anxiety and anger over the siege.

Mr Wait also said Grosser had stored firearms and ammunition before the siege, with some weapons still unaccounted for.

But Grosser's lawyer, Oliver Koehn, said there was no need for a supervision order and there was nothing to suggest his client would engage in another confrontation with police.

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He said the length of time since the siege had diminished the risk of any further offending.

Mr Koehn also said Grosser had been detained in a secure mental health facility in recent months and had been trialling anti-psychotic since November last year.

Grosser, was jailed for 22 years after being convicted of the attempted murder of policeman Derrick McManus during the siege at Nuriootpa, in the Barossa Valley.

Police had gone to arrest him after he had failed to attend court, but he opened fire as the officer approached his back door, believing he was a mafia associate, drug dealer and contract killer.

In the following stand-off police and Grosser fired an estimated 2500 rounds of ammunition.

Grosser's trial was also told that he held certain views on corruption within police ranks.

In court on Monday, Mr Koehn said it was difficult to assess if those beliefs would lead to further offending.

The case will return to court on Thursday.


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