Yolo judge permits bail for ex-firefighter accused in deadly fireworks explosion
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- A judge approved a $500,000 bail bond for former firefighter Craig Allen Cutright.
- Cutright faces nine felonies in an Esparto fireworks explosion that killed seven workers.
- The judge ordered GPS monitoring and other conditions while Cutright is free on bail.
A Yolo Superior Court judge on Monday approved a $500,000 bail bond for a former volunteer firefighter accused in a deadly explosion at an Esparto fireworks warehouse that killed seven workers last summer.
Craig Allen Cutright, 61, faces nine felony charges including illegal possession of explosives, transportation of an explosive or destructive device and criminal conspiracy. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of a destructive device.
Cutright, the former Esparto volunteer firefighter, founded BlackStar Fireworks. The company, along with Devastating Pyrotechnics, leased the storage warehouse at 18080 County Road 86A in Esparto where the explosion occurred.
Seven workers were killed July 1 in the powerful blast that leveled the Devastating Pyrotechnics fireworks warehouse. Those killed in the blast were 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.
Five of the eight people indicted by a Yolo County criminal grand jury, including former Yolo County sheriff’s lieutenant Samuel Machado, face murder charges for their alleged involvement in what led to the deadly warehouse explosion.
Cutright, who has been in custody at the Yolo County Jail since his April 9 arrest, was scheduled to return Monday afternoon to Judge Daniel Maguire’s courtroom. The hearing was scheduled for the judge to decide whether to approve Cutright’s $500,000 bail bond.
Cutright was not in the courtroom Monday. Darryl Stallworth, Cutright’s attorney, told the judge that he didn’t know, when he filed a motion to review Cutright’s bail, he had to file a separate court request for Yolo County sheriff’s officials to bring Cutright to court Monday. Stallworth waived Cutright’s appearance with no objection from the prosecutor.
Maguire had placed a hold on Cutright’s bail to ensure the funds and collateral used to secure the bond were not obtained illegally.
The accused former volunteer firefighter arranged his bail with funds and collateral from his brother-in-law, Mike Yurochko. Ready Bail, the business posting Cutright’s bail bond, has verified the legitimate sources of the bail and provided bank statements and copy of a $25,000 cashier’s check used to obtain the bail bond, Stallworth told the judge.
Deputy District Attorney Deanna Hays, the prosecutor in the fireworks explosion case, questioned Yurochko about his income and the collateral used to obtain the bail bond.
Yurochko testified that he and his wife own a tech startup company that started about four years ago, but their income mainly comes from tech stocks and real estate investments. He said he knows that he and his wife will lose the $25,000 they used to obtain Cutright’s bail bond, even if he is acquitted in this criminal case.
He said they used a $475,000 lien on their house as collateral to secure his brother-in-law’s bail bond.
“As a family, we’ll help him in any way we can,” Yurochko said on the witness stand.
The judge said Cutright met the legal burden to show the bail funds and collateral were legitimate.
The prosecutor asked the court to order nine conditions that Cutright must comply with while he’s free on bail. Hays asked that Curtight surrender his passport, telling the judge that the fireworks company owner had traveled to China as recently as six weeks ago.
Hays also asked that authorities be allowed to search Cutight for any deadly or dangerous products and not be allowed to possess any explosives or precursor products to explosives. The prosecutor also asked Cutright not be allowed to associate with any of his co-defendants or try to communicate with the victims’ families.
Hays said Cutright should be ordered to remain in California, telling the judge she wanted to ensure Cutright doesn’t go to another state to try to start another fireworks company while he’s awaiting trial. The prosecutor also asked the court to order Cutright to wear a GPS-monitoring ankle bracelet while free on bail.
The defense attorney only objected to GPS monitoring, telling Maguire that all the other bail conditions along with his bail bond will ensure Cutright appears for every court hearing. Stallworth said GPS monitoring for his client is “simply not necessary.”
The judge approved all conditions and ordered Cutright to wear a GPS monitor for 60 days at his own expense. The court said the requirement could be lifted if he complies with release conditions.
Cutright and his co-defendants are scheduled to return to court Wednesday. The grand jury indictment allows the case to bypass a preliminary hearing and proceed toward trial, though no trial date had been set.
