These are the 8 people arrested Thursday in connection with the Esparto blast
Eight people were arrested Thursday in connection with the Esparto explosion that killed seven people on July 1, 2025, including two Yolo County Sheriff’s Office employees — a husband and wife who owned the property — and leaders and associates tied to Devastating Pyrotechnics, the fireworks company believed to be at the center of the blast.
The arrests came a week after a grand jury handed up sweeping indictments charging seven men and one woman in what prosecutors described as a “massive” illegal fireworks importation, manufacturing and sales scheme.
The criminal investigation led by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s office, described as the most complex in the county’s history, has resulted in a total of nine arrests — seven on Thursday in addition to one made in Los Angeles October and another in Del Norte County in December.
Four of the people placed into custody Thursday face murder charges in connection with the blast that killed seven people — Jesús Ramos, Jhony Ramos Jr., Joel Melendez, Neil Justin Li, Carlos Rodriguez, Angel Voller and Christopher Bocog.
Prosecutors on Friday confirmed the arrests and outlined the charges against the eight defendants, detailing what they described as a wide-ranging criminal case involving the importation and sales of illegal customer fireworks they said are tied to the explosion that rocked the western Yolo County community.
Samuel Elmo Machado, 45, a lieutenant for the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and husband to Tammy Machado. Sam Machado operated Sam’s Gun Sales out of the Esparto property. He and his wife constructed a new warehouse on the property that did not have the appropriate workplace safety infrastructure or permitting, according to previous Bee reporting. Machado’s experience in law enforcement as well as at the Madison Fire Protection District may have assuaged concerns about the legality and safety of the fireworks facility, which had become an open secret in the community.
Machado was arrested on suspicion of 26 charges, including seven murder counts, two counts of making false returns or statements and four counts of possessing an assault weapon, according to Yolo County jail workers.
Tammy Kiku Machado, 46, wife of Sam Machado. Tammy Machado works as a legal assistant in the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office. Her father, Jerry Matsumura, began experimenting with fireworks on his Esparto farm decades ago. After Matsumura’s death, the land was split between Tammy Machado and her sister, Reiko Matsumura. The Machados leased the land to Devastating Pyrotechnics and BlackStar Fireworks.
Both Machados were on paid administrative leave at the time of their arrest. A spokesperson for the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return messages for comment.
Machado was out of custody by Thursday night, meaning no information on charges was immediately available, according to the Yolo County jail.
Craig Allen Cutright, 61, a former volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire Protection District. Cutright worked as a show producer for Devastating Pyrotechnics for years before forming his own fireworks company, BlackStar Fireworks, in April 2023. He lived in a house on the Esparto compound. Cutright, who denied his involvement in the July 1 blast, signed up to work as a volunteer firefighter within days of forming his company. He retired shortly afterward in a text message.
Cutright was arrested on suspicion of 12 felony charges, including conspiracy and making a destructive device without a permit, according to the Yolo County jail. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
Kenneth Kin Chee, 47, a Bay Area optician who created and ran Devastating Pyrotechnics, the larger of the two fireworks companies headquartered in Esparto. Devastating Pyrotechnics is also linked to illegal fireworks seizures in Commerce and San Jose. Chee’s company also imported chemicals used to make fireworks, despite not holding a manufacturer’s license. Chee, who was arrested at a Disney park in Central Florida on Thursday, was charged with seven counts of murder and multiple felony charges including conspiracy and the possession of explosives.
Chee was convicted of a violent felony in 1998, according a Cal Fire background check from Chee’s license application, making him ineligible for a federal import license. He assisted other display operators before getting his own license in 2008, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.
An email from Chee’s attorney, Sam O’Keefe, sent in June of last year proposed that Devastating Pyrotechnics be allowed to remove 3,600 cases of fireworks seized in Southern California, according to Sacramento Bee reporting. The communication openly acknowledged ownership of the seized contraband fireworks and shed light on how the company used its connections with local law enforcement to cover its illicit operations.
Jack Ying Lee, 65, is the operations manager for Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to company records. Lee is the listed owner of the San Francisco home where Devastating Pyrotechnics is registered. Lee, who has had a basic commercial license to operate fireworks since 2011, was responsible for site storage, product safety and security for the company’s public shows. Lee’s charges include seven counts of murder, for the seven people who died in the explosion. He is being held without bail in Yolo County jail.
Gary Y. Chan Jr., 43, applied for and received a federal explosives permit for Devastating. Company founder Chee was ineligible to hold the permit due to his prior violent felony conviction. He has never held a California license to work with explosives.
Chan was arrested in Santa Clara and was being held without bail. He is suspected of murder, conspiracy to commit crimes, possession of explosive devices in a public building and causing a structure fire.
Douglas Michael Tollefsen, 55, of Rio Linda, described by prosecutors as an associate of Chee who helped import large quantities of explosives from overseas that were later transported to Esparto, repackaged and sold as consumer fireworks. Authorities said it was the first time Tollefsen had been publicly identified in connection with Devastating Pyrotechnics’ operations.
Tollefsen’s social media posts included a 2016 photo of a roadside sign warning against transporting illegal fireworks, which he said he took near the California-Nevada border, and a video posted the day before his arrest showing a vegetation fire captioned, “Fire season... #fire #burn #flame.”
Two other people were arrested last year in connection with the fireworks operation:
Ronald Botelho III, 30, was arrested in December in Crescent City. Botelho sold fireworks for Craig Cutright. On Thursday, additional charges were added, according to the Del Norte Sheriff’s Office, including felony reckless possession of explosives, conspiracy to commit a crime and making destructive devices without permits.
Luis Acosta was arrested in Los Angeles in October when Yolo County investigators and local authorities raided his home and found a cache of illegal fireworks, prompting the evacuation of a nearby school. He was charged with five counts, including possession of a destructive device at a public building and a silencer, for which he later pleaded not guilty.
He appeared Thursday for a preliminary hearing in connection to the fireworks, which authorities said they found in his garage. His next scheduled court hearing is June 18. He remains out of custody on bond.
The Bee’s Hannah Ruhoff contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 7:36 PM.
