April 27 (UPI) — The owner of a Michigan warehouse that went up in flames last month leaving one man dead has been arrested at a New York City airport with a one-way ticket to leave the country, police say.
Noor Kestou was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport this week before boarding a flight to Hong Kong, Clinton Township, Mich., Police Department officials announced at a news conference Friday.
Members of the Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan State Police, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were involved in Kestou’s arrest, along with “many others,” Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon added.
“I never thought we would get it done this quickly,” Cannon said, praising the cooperation between agencies.
Kestou is suspected of being involved in the March 4 fire at an industrial building in Clinton Township, a suburb of Detroit in Macomb County, Mich. Officials did not say exactly what role he may have played in starting the fire. The 31-year-old owned the Goo Smoke Shop as well as a distribution company.
The blaze caused thousands of canisters containing nitrous oxide to explode, sending debris as far as a mile. A 19-year-old man who was about a quarter-mile from the scene died after being hit by flying debris while a firefighter responding to the blaze was injured.
Officials haven’t yet determined the cause of the fire, which took firefighters over 24 hours to extinguish.
The ATF is leading the criminal aspect of the investigation while the EPA is coordinating the cleanup of over 3,100 nitrous oxide canisters. Private insurance investigators are also involved.
Kestou was formally charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, officials said Friday.
“The charge in the case, is the highest charge that we could bring at this time,” Macomb County prosecutor Peter Lucido told reporters. “We don’t know what his ultimate goal was. Was it to stay out of the country with a wife and a child here?”
Kestou reportedly posted a $500,000 bail Friday night but was required to surrender his passport and wear a monitoring device.