Kim Bell

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

(TNS)

Police in St. Louis and the Metro East said that they have seized more than 9,000 pounds of fireworks from residents ramping up for illegal sales before the Fourth of July holiday.

In Troy, Illinois, police seized about 6,000 pounds of fireworks from a home on Orchard Court. Officers uncovered displays of fireworks on shelves, with price tags, as if they were in a retail store, police said.

In St. Louis, police announced Friday that they had discovered more than 3,000 pounds of illegal fireworks stacked floor to ceiling in a vacant home in the 5000 block of Terry Avenue, south of Interstate 70.

Police spokesman Mitch McCoy said the man charged in the seizure appeared to be selling fireworks from the house as if "he'd opened up his own market."

"The situation no doubt was extremely dangerous and reckless," McCoy said at a news conference. "This could have easily turned into a disaster for the entire neighborhood."

Illegal fireworks have periodically exploded in area homes, sometimes with tragic results.

A house near Black Jack blew up four years ago, killing four — two teens and two young men. Authorities charged two St. Louis men with running a bootleg fireworks operation that caused the explosion.

And just this year, on April 5, an explosion and fire destroyed a home south of Troy, Illinois, killing two teens and a 12-year-old girl. Colton Cissell, 22, faces six felonies, including three counts of involuntary manslaughter. Authorities said Cissell, who belonged to a fireworks club, carelessly and illegally stored the fireworks materials.

St. Louis and St. Louis County prohibit the sale of fireworks by individuals.

The man arrested in St. Louis, Serrari Houston Watson, 38, of the 2400 block of Periwinkle Court in north St. Louis County, faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing, selling or using illegal fireworks.

McCoy said the fireworks, confiscated Thursday, were a mix of commercial-grade items used at public displays, apparent homemade items and some products that might be available legally at fireworks stands in St. Louis area suburbs that allow them.

Police said the regional Bomb and Arson Squad will test the homemade items to see if any qualify as explosive weapons, and that additional charges could be filed if they do.

McCoy said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which took part in the seizure, is reviewing whether to seek any federal charges in the case.

McCoy said police searched the home after getting complaints from multiple neighbors.

Watson also faces a felony charge of tampering with utility service. The probable cause statement alleges that he bypassed the electricity meter and connected directly to the electric grid.

A neighbor's concern

In Troy, a woman reported a neighbor's fireworks cache after she heard about the Metro East home explosion, and worried about her own neighborhood.

Police seized about 6,000 pounds of fireworks from the Orchard Court home on June 12. They said a married couple was in illegal possession of regulated explosives and fireworks.

There were no criminal charges filed in connection with the seizure Friday.

The Post-Dispatch is not identifying the couple because they are not charged.

They could not be reached Friday morning.

Court records in Madison County reveal some details of what police found.

Zacary Cato, assistant state's attorney in Madison County, said the fireworks arrived at the home in a 24-foot-long trailer owned by Water Doctors of Greater St. Louis. Prosecutors argue the trailer should be forfeited under a state law dealing with possession of explosives.

At a preliminary review on Thursday of the forfeiture petition, Judge John Hackett found probable cause and said the forfeiture case can proceed.

Troy Detective Jeremy Bradford said 2,800 pounds of fireworks were in an attached garage and 3,100 were in the trailer.

The neighbor who alerted police said that the couple had been getting large quantities of fireworks on their property for four years. She said neighbors buy from them, and vehicles arrive with customers as well. She told police about the children lining up with their parents to unload the pallets. Court papers did not provide the children's ages.

The couple does not have a pyrotechnic operator license to possess or store fireworks, police said.

In addition, police said they violated the Illinois Explosives Act, which spells out distance rules on bulk storage for consumer fireworks. For example, they must be at least 230 feet away from an inhabited dwelling.

In this case, police said, the explosives were five feet away from the house.

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