On Wednesday, the officials from San Joaquin County announced the results of their 2022 Illegal Fireworks Task Force which they say was one of the states largest busts with nearly 10,000 pounds of fireworks seized.
In the photograph provided, they say it was only one-third of the illegal fireworks seized this year over the six-week period between the San Joaquin County Sheriffs Department and San Joaquin District Attorney’s Office.
In all, throughout the months of May and June, we seized
- 9,962.5 pounds of illegal fireworks, including
- 380 commercial fireworks, and
- 540 destructive devices
- 9 illegal firearms, including
- one fully-automatic “ghost gun” AR-15 style pistol
- one short-barreled “ghost gun” AR-15 style rifle
- one sawed-off shotgun
Officials said they affected 17 physical arrests and referred an additional 16 cases to the DA’s Office for review.
We also addressed a search warrant that was served by the Task Force in the town of Ripon on June 15, 2022. The case garnered significant attention both in the media and online, due to doorbell camera video and statements made by the family.
Both Sheriff Withrow and DA Tori Verber Salazar addressed the case at the Press Conference, and released a video containing bodycam video, evidence photos, and details about the case.
The sheriffs office provided an update on the case after in late may they were tipped off to illegal fireworks being sold through Instagram. Law enforcement said they had more than 20 contacts with the suspect in the past. While searching the home in Ripon, they found the shipment of illegally imported fireworks—within the video, they showcase his sales he listed on a notepad.
Between the two searches of the homes in the case, they found a total of 447.5 lbs of illegal, dangerous, illegally imported and unpermitted fireworks along with 3 destructive devices.
The video is available below:
A video of the nearly 10-minute press conference can be viewed on Facebook: Click here
1 comment
Nothing like giving the DA and cops plenty of video evidence.
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