Five charged with murder in Northern California fireworks explosion
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- Five individuals, including former Yolo County Sheriff lieutenant Samuel Machado, have been charged with murder following a deadly fireworks warehouse explosion in Northern California that killed seven people and injured two others.
- The explosion occurred at a warehouse near Esparto, which stored about 1 million pounds of illegal fireworks, significantly exceeding legal limits, and led to the cancellation of nearby Fourth of July celebrations.
- Other accused include Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, along with the company's operations manager Jack Lee, license holder Gary Chan Jr., and Douglas Tollefson, whose role remains unclear.
- Authorities have filed a total of 30 charges against eight people, including murder, conspiracy, illegal possession of weapons and explosives, insurance fraud, child endangerment, and animal cruelty.
- The blast was powerful enough to damage nearby homes and caused widespread disruption, with some suspects arrested in multiple states and others released on bail or still at large.
