Owner of Clinton Township building that exploded was flying to another country before arrest

article

Noor Kestou, 31, of Commerce Township. Mug shot via Clinton Township.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - 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 in New York with plans to fly to another country when he was arrested.

Noor Kestou, 31, of Commerce Township, was instead flown back to Michigan where he was arraigned on a single count of involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutor's office spoke alongside city officials at a Friday press conference. Read a recap of what officials said here.

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.

Authorities said a truckload of butane canisters had been brought to the building a week before the explosion.

Goo had received a township occupancy permit in September 2022 for the 26,700-square-foot (2,480-square-meter) building as a retail location for a "smoke shop/vape store" that would sell paraphernalia for vape products, Clinton Township’s Building Department has said.