Esparto fireworks murder suspect denied bail; co-defendant must hire attorney
A Yolo County judge on Thursday denied bail to one defendant charged in the deadly Esparto fireworks explosion and ruled one of his seven co-defendants must hire his own attorney after determining he inherited more than $1 million in property.
Jack Lee, the longtime operations manager for Devastating Pyrotechnics, the fireworks company at the center of the Esparto case, faces 17 felony charges, including seven counts of murder. Lee was initially found indigent and unable to afford an attorney, so the court assigned the county’s conflicts panel to represent him. But the court later determined Lee inherited property from his father worth more than $1 million, making him ineligible for indigent defense.
Lee’s attorneys argued the property was promised to his son and therefore should not be considered Lee’s asset when determining eligibility for appointed counsel. Judge Daniel P. Maguire ruled the property disqualified Lee from receiving a county-funded lawyer. Lee will have to obtain new counsel after his next court appearance July 1.
Yolo County, which faces a longterm budget deficit, recently set aside $1 million for legal fees for the two Esparto defendants previously deemed indigent. The county spent about $1.35 million on the investigation and cleanup, and the District Attorney’s Office requested another $600,000 for the trials. Most of that spending will not be reimbursed, according to the county counsel.
Another defendant, Douglas Tollefsen, appeared to seek bail. Tollefsen, 45, of Rio Linda, has been involved with Devastating Pyrotechnics and company CEO Kenneth Chee for more than a decade, prosecutors said. Tollefsen faces 16 felony charges, including seven counts of murder.
Tollefsen’s argument focused on his individual culpability for the explosion, which his attorneys said resulted from errors made on site that he had nothing to do with. Prosecutors argued he played a significant role in managing the site, even if he was not the main supervisor on the warehouse floor.
Tollefsen, a resident of Rio Linda, was “a lieutenant” for Devastating Pyrotechnics for a decade, Yolo County prosecutor Clara Nabity said. Nothing happened on site without his knowledge, she said.
The judge ruled prosecutors presented sufficient evidence that Tollefsen was involved in creating the unsafe warehouse environment where the explosion occurred.
Maguire denied bail, citing evidence presented in earlier filings that Tollefsen had tried to restart the fireworks business after the explosion. Releasing him on bail while ensuring he did not return to the illegal fireworks business would not be possible, Maguire said.
Three other defendants in the Esparto case have already been granted bail. Tammy Machado, a former employee of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department, owns the Esparto property with her husband and was charged with five felonies. She was granted bail shortly after her April arrest.
Samuel Machado, a former Yolo County Sheriff’s lieutenant, also co-owns the property. Machado faces 26 felonies, including seven counts of murder. He was released on bail earlier this month.
Craig Cutright, a former volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire Protection District, was granted bail in April. Cutright claimed to have cut ties with Devastating Pyrotechnics in 2023 and founded his own fireworks company, BlackStar Fireworks, on the Esparto property. He faces 10 charges related to the possession and distribution of explosives but was not charged with murder.
The next hearing is scheduled for July 1, when the parties will discuss the process for exchanging evidence and information before trial.
