The illegalization of fireworks in Southern California makes it hard for citizens to celebrate the 4th of July the way they want. Some people still desire to buy fireworks, despite the fact that they illegal. However, the punishments can be extremely harsh for anyone who possess fireworks in Long Beach, California.
On July 2 in Long Beach, the Police conducted investigations into the sale of fireworks. They managed to seize over 1,000 lbs of fireworks that went for a street value of around $10,000.
There were 3 total investigations; two of them for online firework advertisements. The first investigation was conducted on suspect 24-year-old Erik Alvarado-Ramirez from Compton, and included several mortars and other fireworks weighing about 100 lbs. The other online investigation led to a shopping center in the area of Spring Street and Atlantic Avenue, where the suspect, 25-year-old Julio Flores of Pico Rivera, was selling his fireworks from his vehicle. He possessed mortars, a mortar tube, and several boxes of other fireworks, totaling about 200 lbs.
For the third investigation, officers searched in a nearby residence in the area of 72nd Street and Orange Avenue. The suspect, 23-year-old Sergio Guerrero of Long Beach, possessed 51 “Excaliber” and 8 boxes of “Rolling in the Dough” fireworks, giving a total of 715 lbs of fireworks with a total value of $8,800.
All three suspects had their fireworks confiscated, were arrested, and taken into custody.
According to the Long Beach PD, “All fireworks, including those marked as “Safe and Sane” are illegal in the city of Long Beach”.
Anyone arrested for fireworks may be fined $1,000 and/or sentenced to 6 months in jail. The punishments vary depending on the amount of fireworks and the type of fireworks the suspect is using.
The punishments for the three suspects have not been specified, but they will likely be pretty harsh.
