Felon caught with fireworks, methamphetamine has court appearance delayed
A man who allegedly had a car full of illegal explosives one day before the Fourth of July, triggering a bomb squad response on a stretch of Palm Desert roadway, was scheduled to be arraigned on three felony counts today, but was not medically cleared to appear in court.
Salvador Charles, 43, is accused of possessing illegal fireworks in his car just before 5 p.m. July 3. Sheriff’s deputies said he was stopped near Highway 111 and Shadow Hills Road, but after the fireworks, ammunition, and methamphetamine were discovered inside the car, roads were blocked off and a bomb squad was brought in to detonate the fireworks.
Charles was then taken into custody, where he remains held in lieu of $160,000 bail, county jail records show. Prosecutors charged him last week with felony counts of firearm and ammunition possession, unlawfully possessing a destructive or explosive device, and possession of leaded cane or similar prohibited weapons.
Authorities did not specify what type of fireworks Charles allegedly possessed, but did reiterate on and around the fourth of July holiday that the only fireworks allowed in four Coachella Valley cities — not including Palm Desert — are “safe and sane” fireworks, which include sparklers, snaps, smoke balls, fountains, snakes and wheels.
Authorities did not specify what type of fireworks Charles allegedly possessed, but did reiterate on and around the Fourth of July holiday that the only fireworks allowed in four Coachella Valley cities — not including Palm Desert — are “safe and sane” fireworks, which include sparklers, snaps, smoke balls, fountains, snakes and wheels.
Those fireworks are allowed in Indio, Cathedral City, Coachella, and Desert Hot Springs. However, even in those cities, violators using fireworks other than the “safe and sane” variety could be subject to arrest, a $1,000 fine, or both.
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