Conspiracy, lying charges dropped from fireworks trial
COURTESY PHOTO
Federal agents detonated remaining explosives in an underground storage bunker in Waikele on April 21, 2011. Five men were killed in that bunker from a fireworks explosion earlier that month.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
This is one of the three cars that were parked outside of the bunker where the stored fireworks exploded. The inside of this pick-up truck was completely demolished and burned.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
This is the scene where five men died as a result of the fireworks explosion inside the storage bunker. Notice the firework wrappings that litter the ground around the three vehicles.
Two charges are being dismissed against a man whose company is accused of mishandling fireworks involved in a deadly Hawaii explosion.
A judge today acquitted Charles Donaldson of a count alleging he lied about completely destroying fireworks the government seized. U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway also dismissed a conspiracy charge.
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Donaldson and his company Donald Enterprises remain on trial for other charges including storing hazardous waste without a permit.
They aren’t charged with the 2011 explosion. But prosecutors say the blast that killed five Donaldson employees shows how dangerous the fireworks were.
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Prosecutors alleged that Donaldson, who had a contract to destroy fireworks seized by the government, lied about finishing a job so that he could get paid faster. Mollway’s ruling says there’s insufficient evidence supporting the allegation.
