Full Notification

On June 9, 2015, Montclair PD officers responded on an anonymous tip to the 10500 block of Oak Glen Ave. regarding a large quantity of illegal fireworks. The tipster advised the resident possessed a large quantity and was selling them out of his residence. Officers with the Department’s Crime Suppression Unit responded and spoke to the resident, identified as Francisco Armas, 27, of Montclair. This ultimately led to the discovery of over 2000 pounds of illegal and dangerous fireworks, including bottle rockets, mortars, and firecrackers. Following this discovery, Armas was taken into custody for possession of dangerous fireworks and possession for purpose of sales of dangerous fireworks. He was booked at the West Valley Detention Center on these charges.

Following the discovery of such a large quantity of fireworks, the Ontario Fire Bomb Squad was contacted and responded to assist with the investigation and collection of the fireworks. In total, the Ontario Fire Bomb Squad collected and weighed 2080 pounds of fireworks, all of which had been stored inside of Armas’ residence.

As a reminder to Montclair residents:

Each 4th of July, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are injured while using Safe & Sane fireworks. The risk of fireworks injuries is highest for young people ages 15-24, followed by children under 10. The tip of a sparkler burns at a temperature of more than 1,200°F, which is hot enough to cause 3rd-degree burns.

ALL FIREWORKS including Safe & Sane are ILLEGAL in Montclair. An Administrative Citation for $1,000 will be issued to violators.