SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas man is accused of selling illegal, homemade fireworks in Wichita.
Just after 11:00am on June 26, officials with the Wichita Fire Department received an anonymous complaint that an individual was illegally selling fireworks from a business in the 3900 block of East Harry in Wichita, according to Wichita Police Captain Aaron Moses.
Police and fire crews responded to the location together and developed probable cause to believe that illegal fireworks were being sold from that location.
During the investigation, officers developed additional information which led them to a residence in the area of Pawnee and McLean in Wichita. At that residence, officials with the Wichita Police Department Explosive Ordinance team located additional illegal and homemade explosives.
According to online jail records, police booked 64-year-old Phillip Wayne Bess Sr into the Sedgwick County Jail on a requested charge of criminal use of explosives. He met the requirements of a $5,000 bond and is no longer in custody, according to online jail records.
The case will be presented to the district attorney's office for official charges, according to Moses.