Overview
- Prosecutors, who detailed the case Friday, said a grand jury indicted eight people in the July 1, 2025 Esparto warehouse explosion that killed seven workers and burned 78 acres.
- Five defendants face seven counts of second-degree murder: former sheriff’s lieutenant Samuel Machado, Devastating Pyrotechnics owner Kenneth Chee, operations manager Jack Lee, business partner Gary Chan Jr., and Douglas Tollefsen.
- Chee was arrested at Disney World in Florida and told he will be extradited to California, while several co-defendants were booked in Yolo County and are slated for arraignment Monday.
- Investigators allege a decade-long operation expanded from about 13 to more than 50 storage containers and a 5,000‑square‑foot warehouse, with roughly 1 million pounds of explosives on site at the blast and about 11 million pounds moved over time without licensed storage.
- A civil grand jury found county officials knew of illegal fireworks activity for years but took no action, as regulators revoked companies’ licenses and Cal/OSHA issued more than $200,000 in fines while prosecutors say the probe remains active.