The owners of S& w Atlas Iron and Metal Corp have closed without bail in the 25 accounts for the Watts explosion

Hearing the defendants’ bail is set for March 17

March 15, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – announced the prosecutor of the Los Angeles County District, Nathan J. Hochman That Gary Weisenberg and Matthew Weisenberg, the owners of S&W Atlas Iron and Metal Corp., were withdrawn in the county prison without bail until their next March 17 hearing. The two are facing a 25 -account indictment, including the accusations arising from the devastating August 12, 2024, their explosion from Watts, their metal facility, along with Jordan High School.

“The young students from the Jordan High School should have never been put in the way”, ” Said the Hochman district prosecutor. “This case progresses to justice for children, educators and members of the community who have been endangered by this explosion. No business has the right to endanger public safety and we will continue to accountable the responsible ones. “

The indictment accuses the company and its owners, Gary Weisenberg (78 years old) in ENCINO and Matthew Weisenberg (37 years old) in Los Angeles, with 21 offenses to eliminate hazardous waste on a site without authorization and a number of dangerous waste deposit offenses. Also, each is experiencing two offenses of failure to maintain or operate a facility to minimize the possibility of a fire or explosion and a number of public peacocks, an offense.

The company and its owners were also accused of non -observance of an installation to minimize the possibility of fire, explosion or any sudden or unlimited release of dangerous waste/waste for air, soil or surface water, an offense.

The defendants pleaded guilty during their notification in Department 100 of the Criminal Justice Center Clara Shorttidge Foltz. Their hearing of bail is established for March 17, Department 127 of the same court in the case of 24CJCF05804.

Located in the South Los Angeles/Watts area, the installation is adjacent to the Jordan High School and the development of Jordan Downs housing. The facility for recycling private metals that process scrap iron, as well as electronic waste, is in business for about 70 years. The complaint claims that, despite its long -term presence, the operations of the installation have increasingly violated the environmental and environmental safety regulations and since 2017.

The soil samples taken from a high school area had excessive concentrations of lead and zinc. The additional samples taken at Atlas found excessive concentrations of seven metals. Metal debris from Atlas were found were found in high school.

On August 12, 2024, around 8:20, there was a fiery explosion at the unit, when the students from the nearby school arrived for their first day of classes. No one was injured in the explosion.

The case is criminally prosecuted by deputy lawyers of District Daniel Wright and Cynthia Valenzuela in the Lada Environment Division and was investigated by the District Lawyer’s Office, the Health Division of the Los Angeles Department and the control of the toxic substances in California.

Source: Los Angeles County District Lawyer