A former Yolo County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant is one of five people charged with murder following an explosion that killed seven workers at a rural Northern California ranch in Esparto last summer, authorities said.
Samuel Machado is accused of illegally possessing 1 million explosives on his property at the time of the explosion and using his legal position to shield the illegal activity from scrutiny for years, according to the Yolo County district attorney’s office.
Machado was placed on administrative leave following a violent July 1 explosion, which was heard by residents 20 kilometers away, destroyed a family farm and ignited a 78-hectare grass fire.
Devastating Pyrotechnics LLC and Blackstar Fireworks, Inc., are accused of manufacturing and storing fireworks — including ones too powerful to be legally considered fireworks — on Machado’s property. On Friday, Yolo County Dist. He said. Jeff Reisig announced that 30 charges have been filed against seven people connected to the blast, following the largest investigation he has overseen in his two decades in office. A separate five-count indictment was filed against an eighth defendant, Machado’s wife.
The most serious of the cases are seven murders – one of which was the death of a store employee.
An investigative report filed by a Yolo County judge last month said various county authorities were aware of illegal activity for at least three years before the deadly explosion, but failed to take action.
A county Department of Building official received a tip that the property was being used by two pyrotechnics businesses in June 2022, according to the report. Department officials wrote in emails that they would inspect the area, but noted that they would “tread lightly” since the area is “managed by the deputies we work with.”
“Inexplicably, no law is being followed, even though all dangerous fireworks have been banned by law throughout Yolo County since 2001,” the report said. “Due to the lack of supervision and law enforcement, the unabated proliferation of explosives businesses operating in the Esparto area has led to death and destruction.”
Besides Machado, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, Kenneth Chee, operations manager Jack Lee and his business partner Gary Chan Jr. all charged with murder, along with Douglas Tollefsen of Blackstar Fireworks, Inc.
Machado’s wife, Tammy, was working at the Sheriff’s Office in an administrative capacity at the time of the explosion. He was also placed on leave and charged separately with endangering children and animals for allegedly keeping illegal fireworks on their property, as well as tax fraud and real estate fraud.
The 30-count indictment alleges a decade-long conspiracy that “turned former Sheriff’s Lt. Sam Machado’s estate into a Northern California hub for an illegal business importing illegal explosives into the black market,” Yolo County Deputy Dist. He said. Clara Nabity said in a press conference on Friday.
Devastating Pyrotechnics is accused of expanding its footprint from 13 containers at Machado’s location in 2015 to more than 50 containers and a 5,000 square meter warehouse by 2025.
During that time, the company allegedly imported more than 11 million pounds of explosives and related materials to a site near residents and a family pool, Nabity said. There are no storage containers licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and there are no licenses that allow the storage of fireworks near homes and public roads, Nabity said.
Other charges filed include charges of having a dangerous workplace, unlawfully causing a fire, insurance fraud, child endangerment, animal cruelty, tax fraud and possession of illegal assault weapons.
Seven people have been arrested and charged in connection with Thursday morning’s shooting, Reisig said, including Blackstar Fireworks owner Craig Cutright. Ronald Botelho III, who worked for Blackstar, has been in custody since December on various charges, the Associated Press reported., and on Thursday he was charged with alleged involvement in the explosion.
Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, was arrested in Orlando, Fla. Jail records obtained by Monterey Bay news station KSBW show he was held at Disney World.
The defendants are expected to appear in court on Monday, Reisig said. Chee and another accused arrested outside the region will be tried once they are transferred to local custody, he added.
“This investigation so far has involved dozens, maybe hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the state and across the country,” Reisig said. “It took us across California, it took us across the country and even across our national borders.”
The seven workers who died in the explosion were identified as Christopher Goltiao Bocog, 45, and Neil Justin Li, 41, of San Francisco; Joel Jeremias Melendez, 28, of Sacramento; Carlos Javier Rodriguez-Mora, 43, of San Andreas; brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos, 18, and Jhony Ernesto Ramos, 22, of San Pablo; and Angel Mathew Voller, 18, of Stockton, according to the Yolo County coroner’s office.
The victims’ families have filed a $35-million lawsuit against county and state fireworks regulators alleging gross negligence in allowing illegal activity to continue.
