Yolo sheriff: Machados, longtime employees and Esparto suspects, quit before arrest
Two Yolo County sheriff’s employees resigned from their positions in March, about a month before they were arrested in connection with last summer’s fireworks explosion on their Esparto property that killed seven people, Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez said Friday.
Former Sheriff’s Office Lt. Samuel Elmo Machado, 45, and Tammy Kiku Machado, 46, who worked as a legal secretary, submitted letters of resignation March 17, Lopez said outside his offices an hour after District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s office announced the criminal grand jury indictments. The Machados had worked nearly 25 years at the agency but had spent more than eight months on paid administrative leave following the July 1, 2025, blast near Esparto.
The explosion killed Jesús Ramos, 18; Jhony Ramos, 22; Joel “Junior” Melendez, 28; Carlos Rodriguez-Mora, 43; Angel Mathew Voller, 18; Christopher Bocog, 45; and Neil Li, 41.
The Machados were two of eight people named in criminal grand jury indictments finalized April 3 in relation to the fatal explosion.
The married couple, along with five others, were arrested Thursday in a sweeping law enforcement effort that involved regional agencies, such as the San Jose Police Department, in addition to the U.S. Marshals Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. One man previously arrested and still in custody in Del Norte County jail, Ronald Botelho III, had suspected charges added on Thursday.
According to the indictments, Sam Machado will face seven second-degree murder charges — one for each person killed in the explosion. Four others — Kenneth Chee, Gary Chan Jr., Jack Lee and Douglas Tollefsen — were also indicted for the deaths.
Chee is the founder of Devastating Pyrotechnics, one of two fireworks companies that prosecutors said had been illegally operating on the Machados’ property at the corner of County Roads 23 and 86A. The other company, BlackStar Fireworks, was under the direction of Craig Cutright, who was also arrested Thursday on suspicion of multiple felony charges in relation to the indictments.
Cutright, Botelho and Tammy Machado are not charged with murder.
Sam Machado was expected to face more charges — conspiracy to commit crimes, weapons violations, tax fraud and multiple counts related to handling and possessing illegal fireworks. He remains in Sutter County jail without bail.
Tammy Machado is suspected of mortgage fraud and two counts of willfully making a false return under penalty of perjury. She was taken into custody and posted bond on Thursday.
The Machados also face charges of child endangerment and animal cruelty stemming from “a substantial volume of explosives ... stored adjacent to a family pool” feet from their home, Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said during Friday’s news conference unveiling the indictments.
The Machados were not the first Sheriff’s Office employees to resign following the fireworks explosion. Reiko Matsumura, Tammy Machado’s sister and a sheriff’s deputy of 18 years, retired in September.
Following the death of their father, Jerry Matsumura, the sisters split the property they inherited. Reiko Matsumura’s parcel stored fireworks in seven containers licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that were not part of the explosion, The Bee previously reported. She was not indicted by the grand jury.
Jerry Matsumura, a lifelong Esparto resident and farmer, had served as a local fire district commissioner and regularly blasted off fireworks for years. According to a civil grand jury report published in March, nearby residents remember him regularly setting off shows in the spring, to test out July 4 ideas, and in the fall, to dispose of the rest.
For him, “fireworks were a sideline, somewhere between an actual business and a hobby,” the report reads.
All dangerous fireworks have been banned by ordinance through rural Yolo County since 2001, according to the report.
When asked Friday, the sheriff said he did not know there was a fireworks company operating for years on the Machados’ property. He later walked back that statement saying that he knew Jerry Matsumura years ago had “maybe four containers on his property” before he died.
Lopez, who served for a decade as fire chief of neighboring Madison Fire Protection District, added that he never checked to see if the proper permits were in place for fireworks storage on the property.
“I was not aware of the extent that that operation has grown into,” said Lopez, who left the fire district after he was elected sheriff in 2018. Sam Machado previously worked with Lopez at the Madison agency.
“I did not know anything about Devastating Pyrotechnics or the other company,” he added.
Lopez also confirmed the department had hired an external third party to conduct an internal investigation, adding it began late last year. Lopez said he does not expect the internal investigation to conclude until they obtain Cal Fire’s report, which would include the cause of the fire and is a part of the ongoing criminal investigation. Cal Fire’s report, conducted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, was turned over to the DA’s Office in February. A separate report by a Cal Fire task force, outlining the cause of the blast and 37 recommendations to prevent another tragedy, was released to the public that same month.
The Sheriff’s Office had recused itself from the investigation days after the inferno. Lopez clarified on Friday that the agency had informed Cal Fire on how to obtain search warrants with the county, but then backed away. Previous Bee reporting showed Sheriff’s Office vehicles and personnel participating in the execution of search warrants, including one in San Francisco.
Lopez reaffirmed his decision to keep the Sheriff’s Office out of the investigation. He said Friday the recusal was taken to maintain the integrity of the investigation and to rebuild trust with the public.
“I think my deputies that are out on patrol ... they continue to do their job professionally, and we continue to have the support of our community,” he said.
