Samuel Machado is accused of illegally having 1 million pounds of fireworks on his property at the time of the blast and using his law enforcement position to shield the illicit operation from scrutiny for years,

A former Northern California sheriff lieutenant and the owner of a fireworks company have been arrested and charged with murder following last year’s horrific explosion at an illegal fireworks factory in Yolo county that killed seven people.

SACRAMENTO — Illegal activities contributed to a Yolo County fireworks explosion last year that killed seven people, state fire authorities said this week. Three brothers — two of them residents of San Pablo — were among the seven who died when the ...