Five people charged with murder in Northern California fireworks explosion

Five murder charges add to case over Esparto warehouse blast

Prosecutors in Yolo County, California, have charged five people with murder in connection with a July 1 explosion at an illegal fireworks warehouse near the community of Esparto, about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento, that killed seven people and injured two others. The charges were filed after a grand jury indictment, Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said April 10, as authorities also announced plans for the defendants’ arraignment.

Nabity said the case is rooted in the grand jury’s findings about how the fireworks operation functioned and expanded before the blast. She said one of the people charged with murder is Samuel Machado, who was a lieutenant in the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department at the time of the explosion.

Prosecutors said Machado illegally stored more than 1 million pounds (453,000 kilograms) of fireworks at his property and used his role within the sheriff’s office, according to Nabity, to help shield the operation as it grew. Nabity said the warehouse had 13 fireworks storage containers in 2015 and grew to 50 last year.

Nabity told reporters that the charging decision reflects how prosecutors view the fireworks involved. “This is not a case just about fireworks,” she said, describing the devices as having more explosive capability than the law allows, making them not “fireworks.” She added that Machado’s participation, including his role as a “trusted lieutenant,” helped the alleged conspiracy expand, she said.

Authorities said the explosion near Esparto sparked a massive fire and disrupted nearby Fourth of July plans, with nearby officials in Sutter and Yuba counties saying they would find alternatives for celebrations after their fireworks were destroyed in the blast. People living nearby described the force of the explosion, with one resident telling a Sacramento CBS affiliate that she and her daughter were nearly knocked over as their pony and goats scattered.

In addition to the five people charged with murder, Nabity said a total of eight people face 30 charges in the case, including conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of illegal assault weapons, illegal explosives possession, insurance fraud, child endangerment and animal cruelty. Nabity said all defendants charged in the case are scheduled to be arraigned in Yolo County on Monday.

Prosecutors said Machado’s wife, Tammy Machado, was arrested Thursday but was released after posting bail. Nabity said Tammy Machado worked as a non-sworn administrative employee at the sheriff’s office at the time of the explosion and faces charges that include mortgage fraud, filing a willfully wrong tax return, and endangering a child by storing illegal explosives next to a family pool, according to the indictment. Both Samuel and Tammy Machado were put on leave after the incident.

Other defendants named in the indictment include Kenneth Chee, identified as the owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, who prosecutors said had illegal fireworks stored at Machado’s warehouse. Nabity said Chee was arrested in Florida and that he appeared in a Florida courtroom Friday and was told he would be extradited to California within the week, KCRA-TV reported.

Prosecutors also said the indictment names Jack Lee, the operations manager for Devastating Pyrotechnics, and Gary Chan Jr., whose name is on the company’s federal license, as facing murder charges. Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said the fifth person charged with murder is Douglas Tollefsen, who was arrested in Northern California but had not yet been taken to a Yolo County jail.

Authorities said the Esparto property was linked to Craig Cutright, described as the owner of Blackstar Fireworks, and that he was also listed as a volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire District. Prosecutors said Cutright was among those arrested Thursday, along with Machado, Chee, Lee, Chan and Tollefsen, as well as Craig Cutright.

The grand jury concluded the initial blast caused the death of seven people, including four workers: 18-year-old Jesus Ramos and his 22-year-old relative Jhony Ramos, both of San Pablo; 28-year-old Joel Melendez of Sacramento; and 43-year-old Carlos Javier Rodriguez-Mora of San Andreas. Nabity said Christopher Goltiao Bocog and Neil Li of San Francisco and Angel Mathew Voller of Stockton were also killed.