Owner of Clinton Twp vape shop that exploded had one-way ticket to Hong Kong, arrested at JFK
CLINTON TWP, Mich. (FOX 2) - The 31-year-old man who owned a vape shop that exploded in early March was arrested in New York as police said he had a one-way ticket to Hong Kong.
Noor Kestou, of Commerce Township, was arrested in New York with his one-way ticket. Instead of flying across the world, he was brought back to Michigan where he was arraigned on a single count of involuntary manslaughter for the death of a 19-year-old following the explosion.
The owner of the Clinton Township building that exploded, leading to the death of a 19-year-old during a chaotic evening in early March, was arrested at a New York airport with plans to fly to another country when he was arrested. During a press conference on Friday, Clinton Township authorities said Kestou was bounded for Hong Kong.
Kestou is charged in connection with the death of Turner Lee Salter, who was about a quarter of a mile away when he was struck in the head by a nitrous oxide canister. It had flown through the air after a building exploded on March 4.
The building allegedly housed supplies owned by the company Goo, which distributed products to vaping businesses. Around 100,000 vape pens were stored at the site at the time of the blast.
In the weeks after the explosion, Clinton Twp police Chief Dina Caringi said they served dozens of search warrants and conducted numerous interviews. That led to the ultimate decision to charge Kestou with involuntary manslaughter.
"This past Saturday, April 20th, detectives received information that Noor Kestou, the owner of Select Distributors and person of interest in the investigation, had a one-way ticket to Hong Kong which was to depart from JFK international airport later that same evening," Caringi said.
Detectives and the prosecutors met and authorized an arrest warrant for Kestou before the flight could leave. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol took him into custody at the airport.
On Wednesday, he was flown back to Michigan.
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Owner of Clinton Township building that exploded was flying to another country before arrest
Noor Kestou was in New York with a plane ticket to another country when he was arrested. He was extradited back to Michigan where he was charged.
"Over the last several weeks, I had received numerous calls and emails regarding this investigation. People wanted answers and for someone to be held accountable for this incident and tragic loss of life that traumatized a family and community. As we all know, good investigations take time. The detectives and assisting agencies are to be commended for their work ethic, their integrity, their patience, and their diligent manner in prioritizing investigation all while managing other cases and pressures,"
Prosecutor Pete Lucido said they filed the strongest possible charges against Kestou.
"The charge in this case is the highest charge that we could bring at this time based on information, the evidence presented, as well as all agencies that collaborated together – we would not charge unless we knew what we had in this case," Lucido said.
Kestou's bond was set at $500,000 cash. Lucido said Kestou made bond late Thursday night. As a condition of his bond, he must wear a tether and surrender his passport.
Lucido said Kestou was considered a suspect from the beginning because he was the owner of the business. Once he tried to fly to Hong Kong, authorities got an alert about his travel plans.
"This has only been given to us as a result of the passport and the information that has been given to use from New York," Lucido said. "We don't know what his ultimate goal was - was it stay out of the country with a wife child here."
His passport has been secured in New York and he's wearing a tether.
Lucido called it a blessing that they had him in custody at this point.
"There was discussion had about potential other charges and research had to go into it because this is a unique situation. As a result, there was an alternative charge that could have been brought and, after doing a thorough investigation and review based on the facts, circumstances as well as evidence presented, it was at that time, real quickly in close in time, that we had come to the decision to make involuntary manslaughter (charge). Those elements of the crime were present and we believe whole-heartedly that those were the appropriate charge," Lucido said.
Kestou is due back in court on May 7th.
Fire leads to explosions
A fire at the building that houses Goo and Select Distributors at 15 Mile and Groesbeck was reported around 9 p.m. Monday. When firefighters arrived, they couldn't immediately start battling the fire because of the shrapnel.
"It's certainly dangerous," Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said in early March. "Pieces of metal you'll see laying around on the ground, pieces this side just shredded, flying across the air."
VIEW: Photos of Clinton Township explosion aftermath
Multiple explosions were heard and felt miles away.
Duncan said he could hear the booms from his home, which is about seven or eight miles away from the scene.
"I was thinking to myself ‘hopefully this isn’t what I’m going to,'" he said.