Judge keeps original bail in place for deadly Esparto fireworks defendants

WOODLAND, Calif. - Six people indicted in connection with the deadly Esparto fireworks warehouse explosion returned to court on Thursday, where several relatives of the seven killed employees tearfully asked the judge for no bail. 

Bail remains

What we know:

For now, Yolo County Superior Court Daniel P. Maguire kept the bail amounts in place, and reset court schedules for next week. The judge also allowed the hearing to be livestreamed. 

Those appearing in court include former Yolo County Sheriff’s Lt. Sam Machado; Craig Cutright, the owner of Blackstar Fireworks and a volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire District; Jack Lee, the owner of San Francisco-based Devastating Pyrotechnics; and Douglas Tollefsen, an associate of Devastating Pyrotechnics.

Lee, Machado and Tollefsen remain held without bail in Yolo County custody. Cutright is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at Yolo County jail.  Maguire kept those bail amounts in place until court hearings scheduled for April 22.

At the court hearing on Thursday, Sam Machado, who appeared in custody in a white T-shirt, entered a not guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge. 

The DA also charged Chee, Lee, Chan, and Tollefsen with second-degree murder. 

Arraignments

What's next:

Gary Chan Jr., whose name is on the company’s federal license, will appear in court on Thursday afternoon. Chan faces charges of possessing, transporting or conspiring to transport destructive or explosive devices.

Lee served as the company's longtime operations manager, while Chan is listed on Devastating Pyrotechnics's federal license. 

Sam Machado's wife, Tammy Machado, who also worked as a civilian in the sheriff's office, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include mortgage and tax fraud, child endangerment and animal cruelty. She was allowed to post bail. 

On Thursday, she appeared with her attorney in court to schedule future matters. 

Charges: murder to animal cruelty 

In total, eight people were indicted in connection with the explosion, including Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, and Ronald Botelho III, the latter of whom worked for Cutright.

Charges include murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of illegal assault weapons, illegal explosives' possession, insurance fraud, child endangerment and animal cruelty.

The charges stem from the massive explosion that occurred on July 1, 2025, on the Machado family's property in Esparto, about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento.

Seven people – all employees working at the fireworks facility – were killed days before the Fourth of July, and the explosion caused a 78-acre fire. 

Seven killed

Why you should care:

Those killed were workers at the site. They were: Jesús Ramos, 18; Jhony Ramos, 22; Joel Melendez Jr., 28; Carlos Rodriguez-Mora, 43; Angel Voller, 18; Christopher Bocog, 45; and Neil Li, 41.

Maria Melendez, widow of Joel Melendez, was among the many family members who asked the judge for no bail at the start of the hearing. 

According to the Yolo County District Attorney, the site was found to have been storing approximately one million pounds of illegal fireworks at the time of the explosion. 

At the Thursday court hearing, Maguire noted that the "tragedy was beyond scale."