Prosecutor: Man charged with Clinton Twp. explosion death as he tried to leave country

Clinton Township — Prosecutors said Friday they expedited the authorization of an involuntary manslaughter charge against a Clinton Township business owner connected a massive explosion in March that killed a bystander after they learned he was trying Saturday night to board a plane to Hong Kong.

Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido said he and police had already been considering the involuntary manslaughter charge because of the alleged illegal storage of nitrous oxide and butane canisters that led to the explosion when they met April 17. He said they had to do more research because of the unique charging situation.

But when police were alerted that Noor Kestou of Commerce Township had used his passport in New York and had a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, Lucido said his office immediately got to work to issue the charge.

Kestou, 31, is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 19-year-old Turner Lee Salter, who was hit in the head by flying debris from the explosion a quarter mile away. Township officials said after the fire that Salter was near a car wash while the fire was burning, and they think he was observing what was happening when he got hit by a flying projectile.

Kestou was arrested in New York Saturday, and Clinton Township police brought him back to Michigan Wednesday, Clinton Township Police Chief Dina Caringi said.

Kestou faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted. He was arraigned Thursday in 41-B District Court in Clinton Township and his bond was set at $500,000 cash. One of the conditions if he posts bond is that he would have to give up his passport.

Kestou's attorney, James Thomas, did not immediately respond for comment.

Kestou owned the building where Select Distributors and the Goo Smoke Shop operated on 15 Mile. Township Building Superintendent Barry Miller said he had gotten no complaints about Kestou's building and had no reason to believe there were any issues there.

What EPA found

Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said they went into the business shortly after the latest inspection two years ago and the butane and nitrous oxide were not in the building at that time.

While Lucido and Duncan said there is still no official cause of the March 4 explosion, it was so damaging because of thousands of cans of nitrous oxide and butane were illegally stored in the building. Duncan said the Environmental Protection Agency found 3,100 cans of nitrous oxide.

"That ball of fire, the intensity of this fire essentially damaged what (investigators) would normally look for to determine what would happen," Duncan said. "We cannot exclude human involvement at this scene."

The explosion started a massive fire that destroyed the building and shot debris as far as two miles away, according to township officials. Firefighter Matt Myers was injured in the blaze.

Lucido said the involuntary manslaughter charge was the "highest" prosecutors could bring at this time. He did not rule out the possibility that there would be additional charges against Kestou or other people, though he declined to elaborate. He said Kestou was a suspect from day one because he owned the business.

The prosecutor said he “absolutely” would have charged Kestou even if he hadn’t tried to flee the country.

"We believe wholeheartedly that was the appropriate charge," Lucido said.

Officials: State law changes needed

Clinton Township Supervisor Robert Cannon said he wants to stop an explosion like this from happening anywhere else.

"We're hoping when this is all said and done, not only are the people who did this punished, but those who might be (hoarding nitrous and butane) are caught before they get to this point," Cannon said at the Friday press conference.

Duncan said since the explosion, his department has been going to local businesses and asking to check their back rooms to see if they have legal amounts of nitrous oxide or butane. He said they've found many people don't know how much they're legally allowed to have, or that there is a legal limit. Everyone they've gone to so far has been cooperative, he said.

"We are taking a very aggressive stance in the community," Duncan said. "This has become a hot topic item. We are visiting gas stations, vape shops, places of that nature that might house these types of items. ... It takes a lot of effort to get out in front of this, but we're going to do the best we can to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Duncan said the state needs to make changes so if a business refuses to let the city in or cooperate with them, that they can go in and look around regardless.

"He wouldn't have been storing these if he hadn't been selling them to others out there," Duncan said. "The community at large has a large desire for this item. You can make a lot of money selling these things. Nitrous is supposed to be used for food service, but we're obviously seeing this is simply not happening."

Building Superintendent Miller said while building inspections are regulated by state code, there are licensing requirements ordinances they are looking into possibly changing. Township officials will have to go through the township attorney to see the legality of any changes they are considering, he said.

Questions remain about what agency or agencies regulate the materials found at the site. Several federal or state agencies contacted by The Detroit News — including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy — said they don't manage the storage of butane and nitrous oxide at the site. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, however, said it regulates workplace safety at most industries in Michigan, but it wasn't investigating the incident.

Staff Writer Anne Snabes contributed.

kberg@detroitnews.com

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