Roanoke Police say two men are charged after officers seized more than 40 containers of illegal fireworks. Police say 45-year-old old Roy Abbott of Roanoke and 65-year-old Mark Burnette of Salem were selling the fireworks from a vehicle. Officials say the investigation started when someone reported a complaint to the city Fire Marshal’s office.
NEWS RELEASE: On July 2nd, the City of Roanoke Fire Marshal’s Office, in cooperation with the Roanoke Police Department and City of Salem Fire Marshal’s Office, seized over 40 containers of illegal fireworks. Mark Burnette, age 65, of Salem was charged with possession of illegal fireworks and sale of fireworks without a permit. Roy Abbott, 45, of Roanoke City was charged with possession of illegal fireworks. More charges may be forthcoming. In Virginia, it is illegal to possess, use, store, sell, or handle any firework that explodes, rises into the air, travels laterally, or fires projectiles into the air. The City of Roanoke Fire Marshal’s office received a complaint of the distribution of illegal fireworks earlier this week. After an investigation, in coordination with the Roanoke Police Department, officials witnessed the subjects distributing illegal fireworks. This gave officials reasonable suspicion to interrogate and search the subjects vehicle in which they were distributing from. Upon the initial search 40 containers of illegal fireworks were recovered. This is an ongoing investigation.
