This time LAPD didn't blow up a South L.A. neighborhood after seizing tons of fireworks

Summer Lin
·2 min read
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INCIDENT DATE/TIME: 06/08/23 12:00 A.M. LOCATION: 61st and central CITY:Los Angeles DETAILS: Los Angeles Police Department officers have removed hundreds of pounds of fireworks from a warehouse at 61st Street and Central Avenue. Bomb Squad officers could be seen loading at least three large trucks with fireworks that were seized earlier in the day. At this time the amount removed is unknown. And it is unclear if any arrest have been made HANDLING AGENCIES: LAPD Bomb Squad SOT(s): N/A
The Los Angeles Police Department seized 38,000 pounds of illegal fireworks Wednesday from a warehouse in South Los Angeles. (OnScene-TV)

The Los Angeles Police Department seized 38,000 pounds of illegal fireworks Wednesday from a warehouse in South Los Angeles — and this time it didn't blow up a neighborhood.

The large fireworks seizure and updated policy comes after the LAPD blew up a South L.A. neighborhood in June 2021 while trying to detonate a cache of fireworks, injuring 17 people, damaging 35 properties and displacing dozens of residents in the process.

A vertical frame of view inside a covered truck bed with two large pallets of boxes stacked high.
The LAPD bomb squad hauls away boxes of illegal fireworks. (Los Angeles Police Department)

The Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Marshals were conducting a routine inspection of commercial buildings at about 3 p.m. Wednesday in the 900 block of East 61st Street in Florence, according to an LAPD news release.

The marshals saw a large number of fireworks in a storage room and alerted the LAPD, which responded and notified the department's bomb squad.

Investigators from the bomb squad and Major Crimes Division seized the 38,000 pounds of "commercial-grade" fireworks, according to the LAPD.

After interviewing people in the building, officers arrested Lorenzo Ponce, 64, and Diego Ponce, 35, both Los Angeles residents, for possession of more than 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks.

The fireworks were hauled away by big rigs and box trucks because detonation is required off-site per updated LAPD policy, KCBS-TV Channel 2 News reported.

"Our officers are carefully removing and preparing these dangerous materials for transport, remaining committed to keeping our community members and local businesses safe," the LAPD social media post read on Twitter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.