San Jose pair arrested with 38K lbs of fireworks following blaze at storage unit
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police have arrested two men who allegedly possessed 38,000 pounds of illegal fireworks following an explosive fire that broke out at a public storage facility earlier this month.
Police arrested Anthony Dasilva, 45, and Nathaniel Valassis, 25, both of San Jose on Thursday, in connection with the distribution and sale of illegal fireworks. The men bailed out of custody and are expected to be arraigned on July 31.
Police did not arrest them specifically for starting the fire on Blossom Hill Road that burned for more than a day.
Police also said they found more than 13 ounces of methamphetamine, 200 grams of cocaine, marijuana, one semi-automatic gun and nearly $5,000 in cash when they searched the Public Storage facility at 88 Blossom Hill Road, after the fire first broke out on June 14, according to a news release written by Sgt. Jorge Garibay. Police said the street value of the fireworks is about $2 million.
"Thirty eight thousand pounds is a significant amount. I would say it's the largest in San Jose and one of the largest in California," Garibay said. "38,000 pounds are no longer on the streets of San Jose . That's one child that doesn't lose a hand, hopefully one house that doesn't burn down."
Neither suspect was immediately available for comment on Friday. It was unclear if they had attorneys representing them.
Firefighters continue to battle flames at San Jose storage facility
A fire that broke out Wednesday in a San Jose storage facility continued to pose problems for firefighters who expected to be at the burnt site for much of Thursday.
Two days after the fire, the assaults unit detectives identified the pair, as well as several other storage units that contained even more fireworks, Garibay said.
Detectives obtained several search warrants for multiple homes and storage units that were executed over several days.
At the time, witnesses described seeing fireworks exploding amid the flames and pyrotechnic debris was found nearby, firefighters said.
The day of the fire is one Peggy Dile won't soon forget. She frequents the Southside Community Center next door.
"I could hear explosions and I thought, ‘Jeez, are we getting bombed?’" said Dile.
San Jose police recover a gun and drugs after a fire at Public Storage on Blossom Hill Road.