California fireworks titan arrested at Disney after seven people killed in horror explosion at his illegal factory

A former Northern California sheriff lieutenant and the owner of a fireworks company have been arrested and charged with murder following last year’s horrific explosion at an illegal fireworks factory in Yolo county that killed seven people.

During a press conference, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced that on April 3, a grand jury indicted a total of eight people on a host of charges including five people who were charged with second degree murder, in connection with the massive explosion in rural Esparto last July.

The people who were arrested included former Yolo County Sheriff Lt. Sam Machado, his wife Tammy Machado and the founder and CEO of the illegal fireworks company Devastating Pyrotechnics Kenneth Chee, from the Bay Area.

Chee was arrested in Florida while he was at Disneyworld with his family, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The former Lt. and Chee, along with three other people face seven murder charges each, one for each of the victims who were killed in the deadly explosion, authorities said.

The operations manager for the fireworks company, Jack Lee, was arrested as well, in connection to the blast that leveled the building and forced evacuations in the area, per local reports at the time.

Thursday’s multiple arrests around the country was the culmination of a massive year-long investigation that spanned across the state and country, the DA explained.

Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said that the “grand jury alleged a decade-long conspiracy which turned the property of a former sheriff’s Lt. (Machado) into the Northern California hub for an illegal enterprise that imports and sells illegal explosives on the black market.”

“This is not a case just about fireworks,” Nabity said. “They are devices that have so much more explosive fireworks than the law allows that they can’t be considered fireworks. “

She added, “They are explosives, but they were designed and packaged for consumer sales under private levels.”

Nabity said the indictment also alleges that Machado used “his role as a trusted lieutenant to help shield the conspiracy as it expanded.” 

During the decade-long illegal enterprise the group was able to import more than 11 million pounds of the explosives, officials explained.

At the time of the blast, the factory had been housing approximately 1 million pounds of the fireworks, per the DA’s office.

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Last month, Machado resigned from his position with the sheriff’s department, KCRA reported. The former lieutenant remains in custody as of Friday, per the Bee. 

Arrangements are scheduled for Monday for the five defendants who have already been booked into the Yolo County Jail.

One of Reisig’s closing comments was to family members who have been devastated by the loss of their loved ones.

“Our heart is with them… we are committed to pursuing this to the very end.”

The DA also made it clear that the investigation is ongoing and said there are more individuals who are being investigated.