Owner of Clinton Twp. building that exploded, caught fire in 2024 ordered to trial

Owner and operator of Clinton Township business that formerly stored hazardous materials 2024 fires and explosions The incident, which shook local residents for miles and rained down debris on a teenager a quarter mile away, killing him, will go to trial.

Noor Kestou of Commerce Township, owner of the former Goo Smoke Shop/Select Distributors, was arraigned in Macomb County Circuit Court on Oct. 16 on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, a 15-year felony, in connection with the March 4, 2024 incident.

The explosions and fire occurred at a warehouse containing thousands of canisters of nitrous oxide and butane that county officials said had previously been improperly stored. Clinton County Firefighter Matt Myers was injured and audience Turner Salter19-year-old from Clinton Township killed.

The business was a wholesale supplier of new products, phone accessories and other products to discounters and other retailers. Items that exploded at the former 15 Mile and Groesbeck business included lighter fluid, vape pens and cans of butane and nitrous oxide weighing 10-15 lbs, county officials said. Knives and knives from the building were thrown into the air.

During the preliminary inspection, which has been carried out intermittently since May, district building and fire officials stated that they did not see any hazardous materials during inspections before the business opened in 2022, and that storing large amounts of nitrous oxide and butane together would be prohibited without additional safety measures.

“The only dangerous thing we saw was a small butane rack used to refill lighters,” Clinton County Building Inspector James Surbrook said of his visit to the building in April 2022. “They were asked if that was all they would ever have, and they said yes.”

Building Department Inspector Barry Miller said the business owner would then have the duty to obtain additional approvals if they choose to store large quantities of chemicals. Such a change could also result in a rezoning of the zoning plan from commercial to high-risk, which could trigger more frequent inspections. Several town witnesses said the building was not reinspected after 2022 because no complaints had been filed against it.

Under questioning by an attorney for Kestou, Miller acknowledged that the county does not notify building owners about the types of hazardous materials storage that require additional approval, but if he were a business owner who began storing chemicals, “I would probably call the local authority to see if I needed to get the permit.”

District prosecutors also presented as witnesses several of Kestou’s relatives who worked in the building when the situation came to light.

Employees, including office and purchasing manager Kevin Zaytuna, 26, who stated that they were never trained in the storage of hazardous materials. Zaytuna and others testified that they received explanations or courses on how to ship products.

Zaytuna stated that in March 2024, he felt the ceiling and the building starting to shake and hid under his desk, thinking there might be an earthquake. She was called outside to see the building on fire and called 911. His next call was to Kestou, who asked him if the situation was bad. Zaytuna said he told Kestou that it was.

“I knew from the way the building was shaking that it was serious,” Zaytuna testified in May.

He said the part of the building that burned was a storage area containing butane, lithium batteries and phone chargers. He testified that nitrous oxide was stored in parts of the front perimeter of the building, butane was mostly in the rear storage room, but some butane was in the hallway.

Zaytuna testified that a few hours before closing the back room “felt like a heat wave had hit me,” but the front of the office was cool, which he thought was odd. He testified that Kestou was there until approximately 18.30 that day.

Assistant Prosecutor Carmen DeFranco told the court that the autopsy report showed Salter died of blunt head trauma and that the manner of death was an accident. He said Salter was struck by an object the size and shape of metal cans found in the area after the fire.

Kestou is represented by a trio of experienced lawyers: James Thomas, Stephen Rabaut and Peter Torrice. he was accused In April 2024.

In one of the cross-examinations, Torrice focused on whether witnesses saw a building official come in and indicate that it was a hazmat issue.

Zaytuna said he only knew one firefighter who arrived at the building after a problem with the phone lines triggering the alarm. He also testified that a repairman was in the building in January 2024 regarding an issue with heaters in the back room.

About a dozen people were seated in the first two rows of the courtroom with Salter’s parents at the start of the preliminary exam in May.

Cleanup at the site was completed Jan. 13 and cost about $1.3 million, according to a report. Online update published by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In total, 28,295 DOT-damaged aluminum and steel nitrous oxide compressed gas cylinders were reported to be intact and fire damaged.

“The number of compressed gas cylinders that exploded is difficult to quantify (based on visual clearance) but it is safe to say it is in the thousands. During the cleanup, hundreds of thousands of cans of ultra-refined butane were identified scattered (admixed) throughout the explosion debris, in addition to pallets of canisters beneath layers of debris. Hundreds of intact butane canisters were identified, secured, and properly disposed of throughout the cleanup process,” according to the Jan. 15 update. according to.

By the end of February, the site was cleared, but a business sign called “Goo” remained.

Staff writer Violet Ikononova contributed to this report.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow him on X: @challreporter.

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This article was first published in the Detroit Free Press: Owner of Clinton Twp. The exploded building is getting ready for trial