A Yolo County judge denied bail on Thursday for a former sheriff’s lieutenant charged with seven counts of murder in last year's deadly Esparto fireworks explosion, as family members of the victims pleaded with the court to keep him and others behind bars.
Before the ruling, multiple family members gave an emotional series of comments expressing grief and calling on the court to deny the defendants’ bail.
Samuel Machado owned the property where prosecutors say more than a million pounds of illegal explosives were stored. He is one of eight people indicted in connection to the July 1, 2025 explosion in the small Yolo County town.
Machado pleaded not guilty Thursday to dozens of charges levied against him, including seven counts of second-degree murder — one for each victim killed in the blast. Four others also face the same murder charges.
All seven dead were employees of Devastating Pyrotechnics, one of the companies that operated from the Esparto property. The Yolo County Coroner’s Office previously said all died instantly from “multiple blast and thermal injuries.”
The victims were officially identified a week after the explosion amid frustrations from family members about the slow pace of information and demands for answers.
Uncles, brothers, sons
Maria Melendez said she was left alone to care for her children after her husband, Joel Melendez, died in the blast. She called the tragedy a “catastrophic incident” that left "irreversible consequences.”
“I lost my husband suddenly and violently; I’m now raising our two sons alone,” Melendez said.
“They will grow up without their father, and that is something we have to live with every single day.”
She said public safety and accountability must come first, and releasing any defendants ”would not reflect the seriousness of their actions or the lives that were lost.”
Maria Soriano said the death of her partner, Christopher Bocog, “permanently changed our lives, and our home has been left with a deep sense of loss and emotional instability.”
Soriano said their son turned six shortly after the explosion, “an age when children depend on a parent for guidance, reassurance and a sense of safety,” something Bocog can never provide again.
Carlos Rodriguez’s widow Tiffany Nolan choked up as she said her family will have to carry the weight of the tragedy forever — including their two children. “This was not a small or isolated event,” she said. “Multiple lives — uncles, brothers, sons — were taken, and the level of harm deserves to be taken seriously.”
“The defendants are asking to go home, but my husband and the others will never have the opportunity again,” Nolan said.
Matt Voller said his son Angel Voller had graduated in May and turned 18 in June, one month before the explosion claimed his life. Voller spoke about the love for his son, saying he faces “a daily hurt, [an] hourly hurt.”
“There was no regard for him or any other ones by any of these gentlemen here,” Voller said. “For years they got to do what they wanted; they took advantage of the system.”
He said the defendants could be a flight risk and he believed they would return to illegal activities. Voller specifically singled out Machado.
“Mr. Machado stood there last week, the other day, and today is still hiding behind that wall like a coward; he will not look at us,” Voller said. “I cannot trust that he will not cowardly make a wrong decision if you granted bail.”
"They have blood on their hands"
Jhanelly Ramos’s two brothers, 18-year-old Jesus and 22-year-old Jhony, were killed in the explosion. The former was working his first day at the facility.
“They have seven people on their hands; they have blood on their hands,” Ramos said, adding that she wanted those indicted to know the pain of victims’ families.
“You guys are going to be held accountable; I pray every single day and I ask Lord for you guys to see the bad, the horribleness, they did, and that they’re causing in our life,” Ramos said.
Jhony Ramos’ girlfriend Syanna Ruiz was the last family member to speak. She was pregnant at the time of the explosion, and said her daughter would never grow up and experience the man Ramos was working to become.
18-year-old Syanna Ruiz questions Esparto Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence about her missing boyfriend, Jesus Ramos. July 2, 2025.Chris Felts/CapRadio“You guys took away the father of my daughter; not only the man that I was starting a family with but the man who was supposed to be able to experience what it was to have a father-daughter bond,” Ruiz said.
She also called out Machado directly: “I request that you guys have Machado face the courts and have Machado face us directly instead of hiding behind a wall.”
The seventh victim killed in the blast was Neil Li, of San Francisco.
After the statements, Judge Daniel Maguire acknowledged the “tremendous pain” the families were feeling. “This of course, is the second hearing in this matter,” he said. “There will be many more and the families will have additional opportunities to address the court.”
Maguire denied Machado's bail request. Four other defendants remain in Yolo County custody. All five are scheduled to return to court Wednesday for further arraignment or other hearings.
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