The Yolo County Grand Jury has handed down a 30-count indictment on charges of murder, conspiracy, tax fraud, and other crimes following the massive July 2025 explosion of a fireworks storage facility in the rural town of Esparto.
Seven employees were killed in the blast. The indictment names seven individuals, including Kenneth Kin Chee, Gary Y. Chan, Jack Y. Lee, Douglas Michael Tollefsen, Craig Allen Cutright, Ronald John Botelho III, and Samuel Elmo Machado, a county sheriff’s deputy.
Machado’s wife, Tammy, was named in a separate indictment for mortgage fraud, willfully filing a false tax return, child endangerment, and animal cruelty.
The murder charges allege the defendants killed the seven workers “with malice aforethought.” Additional charged applied to various defendants include illegal possession of explosives; possession of materials to make explosives or destructive devices; possession and transportation of explosives or destructive devices; possession of explosives near private habitations and public roadways; unlawfully causing a fire; child endangerment; animal cruelty; possession of an assault weapon; tax fraud; having a dangerous workplace; insurance fraud; and conspiracy to possess explosives. Not all indictees were charged with all of the crimes.
Cal-OSHA Reporter will provide complete coverage of this important story in its next issue.