The owner of a Detroit business that exploded in March, leading to the death of a man, has been detained, according to reports.
A Michigan man was arrested in New York on his way out of the country and is facing charges in connection with a deadly March explosion at the vape distributor he owns.
Noor Noel Kestou, 31, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, the Macomb county Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.
On March 4, a building in Clinton Township exploded "due to thousands of cans of Nitrous oxide and butane being stored in the building." Kestou owned the building and the business inside it, a vaping industry distributor called Goo. The business had more than 100,000 vape pens stored on site, as well as more than half of the truckload of butane canisters that had been delivered within a week prior to the explosion.
The explosion propelled "numerous" nitrous oxide canisters through the area, one of which struck and killed 19-year-old Turner Lee Salter about a quarter of a mile away from the site of the explosion. Canisters were launched up to two miles from the building.
At a press conference on Friday, officials said they learned Kestou was scheduled to fly out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to Hong Kong on April 20, and issued a warrant for his arrest. He was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the New York Port Authority.
Kestou's passport remains in New York custody, while he was arraigned in Michigan on Thursday. He was released on $500,000 bond and ordered to wear an electronic tether.
Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said the investigation has been slow moving because it took weeks to make the site safe for investigation as new fires would continually ignite. It's still unknown what caused the explosion.
"The intensity of this fire essentially damaged a lot of what they normally would look to try and conclude what was going to happen on this scene," Duncan said. He also said that "human involvement" could not be ruled out.
Duncan said no one has been able to access the site on foot, since more than 3,000 canisters of nitrous oxide remain on site. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were involved in making the site safe.
"Our hope is that in the future when they actually get on the site and start pulling everything away, we're trying to maintain that southwest corner of the building, which is where we believe the fire started based upon the information that we've seen, video that was obtained from nearby businesses, and all the other information that we're seeing at this point," he said.
"Our hearts ache for the family and loved ones of the young man whose life was tragically cut short by this devastating explosion. We are steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice and holding the individual accountable for their actions," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement.
-- with reporting by TMX
