A former Yolo County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant is among five people who have been charged with murder following a catastrophic fireworks explosion that killed seven workers in the rural community of Esparto last July.
Prosecutors allege Samuel Machado, the former lieutenant, allowed two pyrotechnics companies to illegally store millions of pounds of explosives on his property for a decade. The Yolo County District Attorney’s office claims Machado used his position in law enforcement to protect the operation from scrutiny.
The massive blast on July 1, 2025, was felt up to 20 miles away, killing seven warehouse employees, destroying a family farm, and igniting a 78-acre grass fire that threatened nearby areas, reminiscent of other fast-spreading blazes like the Springs Fire in Southern California. Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere, including an instance where an employee was arrested after allegedly setting a massive Ontario warehouse fire.
In addition to Machado, murder charges were filed against Kenneth Chee, the owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics LLC; Jack Lee, the company's operations manager; Gary Chan Jr., a business partner; and Douglas Tollefsen of a second company, Blackstar Fireworks, Inc. In total, felony indictments were filed against eight individuals connected to the deadly explosion.
Decade-long operation exposed
At a press conference on Friday, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced a 30-count felony indictment targeting seven people and a separate five-count indictment against Machado’s wife, Tammy Machado. Reisig described the investigation as the largest his office has seen in two decades.
Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said the indictments reveal a conspiracy that spanned ten years. "This turned the property of a former Sheriff’s Lieutenant Sam Machado into the Northern California hub for an illegal enterprise that imports illegal explosives on the black market," Nabity said.
The operation allegedly grew from just 13 storage containers on Machado's property in 2015 to more than 50 containers and a 5,000-square-foot warehouse by 2025. During this time, the enterprise is accused of importing over 11 million pounds of explosives. At the time of the explosion, an estimated 1 million pounds of fireworks were being stored at the site. Nabity noted that none of the storage was licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and no licenses permit storing such materials near homes and public roads.
The case highlights a significant breach of public trust, not unlike other instances of misconduct by California law enforcement officials. The conviction of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca for obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI serves as a stark reminder of the consequences when those in authority abuse their power.
Years of warnings ignored
A civil grand jury report released last month revealed that top county officials were aware of the illegal fireworks operation for at least three years before the fatal blast but took no significant action. The report from the Yolo County grand jury states that the county’s Building Services Department received a tip in June 2022 about the two pyrotechnics businesses operating on the property.
Despite plans to inspect the site, internal emails showed officials intended to “tread lightly” because the property was owned by “deputies that we work with.” The grand jury concluded that this failure of oversight had deadly consequences. “Inexplicably, no code enforcement occurred, even though all dangerous fireworks had been banned by ordinance throughout rural Yolo County since 2001,” the report states. “In the absence of official oversight and enforcement, unmitigated expansion of the fireworks businesses operating at the site in Esparto led directly to death and destruction.”
The families of the seven victims have since filed a $35-million claim against Yolo County and state fireworks regulators, alleging widespread negligence contributed to the deaths of their loved ones.
Sweeping arrests and numerous charges
The charges laid against the eight individuals are extensive. The most serious are seven counts of second-degree murder for the workers who perished. The victims were identified as Christopher Goltiao Bocog, 45; Neil Justin Li, 41; Joel Jeremias Melendez, 28; Carlos Javier Rodriguez-Mora, 43; brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos, 18, and Jhony Ernesto Ramos, 22; and Angel Mathew Voller, 18.
Other charges include maintaining a dangerous workplace, unlawfully causing a fire, insurance fraud, child endangerment, animal cruelty, tax fraud, and possession of illegal assault weapons. Machado’s wife, Tammy, who was an administrative employee at the Sheriff’s Office, faces charges of child and animal endangerment, tax fraud, and mortgage fraud for her alleged role.
Seven of the accused were arrested in a large-scale operation on Thursday morning. The Associated Press reported that Ronald Botelho III, who worked for Blackstar, was already in custody on unrelated charges. Devastating Pyrotechnics owner Kenneth Chee was apprehended in Orlando, Fla., reportedly at Disney World.
“This investigation has thus far involved dozens, maybe hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the state and the country,” Reisig said. “It has taken us across California, it’s taken us across the nation and it’s even taken us across our national borders.” He added that the defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, with those arrested out of state appearing once transferred to Yolo County custody.
