Five people have been charged with murder in a deadly Northern California explosion at a fireworks warehouse that killed seven people and shook a tiny farming community, authorities said Friday.
The charges stem from a grand jury indictment that found five people, including a former Yolo County Sheriff lieutenant, responsible for the explosion that injured two others, Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said.
The deadly fireworks explosion near the community of Esparto sparked a massive fire and led to nearby Fourth of July celebrations being called off.
Those charged with murder include Samuel Machado, who owned the warehouse about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. At the time, he was a lieutenant with the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office.
"Samuel Machado’s participation included using his role as a trusted lieutenant to help shield the conspiracy as it expanded and the expansion was significant," Nabity said, adding that the warehouse went from having 13 fireworks storage containers in 2015 to 50 last year. At the time of the explosion, there were 1 million pounds of fireworks kept at the facility, she said.
Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, whose illegal fireworks were being stored at Machado's warehouse, has also been charged with murder and was arrested in Florida. He appeared in a Florida courtroom Friday and was told he will be extradited to California within the week, KCRA-TV reported.
Authorities also arrested Jack Lee, the operations manager for Devastating Pyrotechnic, and Gary Chan Jr., whose name is on the company’s federal license, the television station reported. Both also face murder charges. The fifth person charged with murder is Douglas Tollefson, who has not yet been arrested. Tollefson's role in the explosion was not immediately known.
“This is not a case just about fireworks,” Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said. “They are devices that have so much more explosive fireworks than the law allows that they can’t be considered fireworks.”
Nabity said a total of eight people face 30 charges in the case, including murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of illegal assault weapons, illegal explosives possession, insurance fraud, child endangerment and animal cruelty.
Machado, Chee, Lee, Chan were arrested Thursday along with Craig Cutright, the owner of Blackstar Fireworks, which operated at the Esparto property owned by Machado and his wife, was also among those arrested. Cutright, was a volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire District and was also listed as an employee of Devastating Pyrotechnics.
One of Cutright’s employees, Ronald Botelho III, has been in custody since December. More than a dozen new charges were filed against him Thursday, jail records show.
Machado's wife, Tammy Machado, also faces charges and was arrested Thursday but was released after posting bail. She was a non-sworn administrative employee at the Yolo County Sheriff's Office. Both Samuel and Tammy Machado were put on leave after the incident.
At the time of explosion, people living nearby described the blast being so strong that it blew open the doors of homes.
Nisa Gutierrez told the Sacramento CBS affiliate KOVR-TV that she and her daughter were in their yard and were nearly knocked over as their pony and goats scattered.
“We hear like a big boom, and feel the wave,” Gutierrez said. “I thought it was a bomb.”
After the explosion, officials in nearby Sutter and Yuba counties announced they would find alternatives for Fourth of July celebrations after their fireworks were destroyed in the blast.
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