1 year after Esparto fireworks explosion killed 7, families still pursue justice
Wednesday marked one year since an explosion at a Northern California fireworks facility killed seven workers and changed the lives of their families forever. The families of the victims said the pain is still as raw to this day.
The explosion happened on July 1, 2025, at a facility in the Yolo County community of Esparto, roughly 40 miles northwest of Sacramento, where officials said Devastating Pyrotechnics LLC and Blackstar Fireworks, Inc. manufactured and stored dangerous fireworks. The seven killed were employees of Devastating Pyrotechnics.
For months, investigators worked to figure out how, in the words of prosecutors, a "decade-long conspiracy" was kept hidden in plain sight.
Eight people were charged in connection with the operation and the deadly explosion.
The five defendants facing murder charges are former Yolo County sheriff's lieutenant Samuel Machado; Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics; Chee's half-brother, Gary Chan Jr.; Chee's uncle, Jack Lee; and Douglas Tollefsen, a longtime associate.
Machado owned the Esparto property where the illegal operation was set up. Chee has been dubbed the "leader" of the illegal explosives business in court documents. Chan Jr. held the federal fireworks license. Lee managed daily operations, according to court records. Tollefson helped import and store the illegal explosives, according to bail documents.
Two others are facing charges for operating the illegal explosives enterprise: Ronald Botehlo and Craig Cutwright. Both are accused of selling their own branded explosives as part of the operation.
Cutwright, a former volunteer Esparto firefighter, has been described as the "architect" in court documents.
Tammy Machado, a Yolo County sheriff's office employee for more than 25 years and the wife of Sam Machado, faces charges including mortgage fraud and child endangerment for storing illegal explosives next to a family pool.
Prosecutors say Samuel Machado used his badge to stay one step ahead of the law, claiming more than 11 million pounds of explosives were moved through the Esparto property over the last decade.
A grand jury report released earlier this year says a 2022 tip to the county building services department about the property being used by two pyrotechnics companies was inspected with a warning.
In a series of emails, county officials noted they would "tread lightly" as the property was owned by sheriff deputies, including "deputies we work with."
Machado's former boss, Sheriff Tom Lopez, said back in April the findings were news to him.
"I do not have knowledge on how Mr. Machado represented himself, whether he went to their office in uniform. I don't have that knowledge yet," Lopez said then.
That grand jury report summarizes pages of findings in four words: officials knew, none acted.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors rejected those findings.
For this story, a Yolo County spokesperson agreed to an interview with CBS News Sacramento on the grand jury's findings and the board of supervisors' response. But this week, the interview was canceled.
"Time has stopped."
The seven victims killed in the blast were Angel Mathew Voller, 18, of Stockton, Calif.; Carlos Javier Rodriguez-Mora, 43, of San Andreas, Calif.; Neil Justin Li, 41, of San Francisco, Calif.; Joel Jeremias Melendez, 28, of Sacramento, Calif.; Christopher Goltiao Bocog, 45, of San Francisco, Calif.; and brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos, 18, of San Pablo, Calif.; and Jhony Ernesto Ramos, 22, of San Pablo, Calif.
Melendez's mother, Lupe Melendez Mendoza, said the family is destroyed, though they are continuing their fight for justice.
Still, Melendez Mendoza said she feels stuck in the very moment she was told her son died in the explosion, at the warehouse where he worked.
"Time has stopped," she said. "I feel like I'm still in the same spot."
As for a mother's grief, time has yet to heal the gaping wound left behind by his tragic death.
"It's so hard, I can't live with that. I needed to protect him," Melendez Mendoza said. "I have him inside of me still, you know?"
Melendez Mendoza said her son never got the chance to meet his youngest son. His wife, Maria, was pregnant when he died.
In the couple's children, Melendez Mendoza says her son's legacy lives on.
"Their little boys are going to become men, and they're going to have to face what happened to their dad," Melendez Mendoza said.
Another baby born since the tragedy is the daughter of Jesus Ramos. His girlfriend, Syanna Ruiz, held their child in court, demanding the defendants remain behind bars.
"This is only the beginning of them getting their justice, and that's the only thing I am grateful for," Ruiz said. "They are getting their justice."
While the fight for justice continues, these families are now serving a life sentence without their loved ones.
"I can't hold him. I can't have hopes for him no more. They're gone," Melendez Mendoza said. "And just because of greed, nothing else matters anymore. I just want them to go to jail."
