New bail was set Monday for the owners of a scrap metal company that’s been linked to explosions and hazardous materials in the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
Matthew Weisenberg, one of the owners of the Atlas Metal Company, was held on $1 million as of Monday afternoon while the bail for Gary Weisenberg, another owner, was set at $100,000.
The Weisenbergs were detained last week after a judge ordered the pair to be back in custody after violating a pre-trial release agreement made with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
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Following a decades-long dispute with Jordan High School for allegedly allowing explosions and causing hazardous material like shrapnel and metal debris to rain down on the public school campus, the owners were indicted in September for an Aug. 12 explosion, one of at least two blasts in two decades.
Before their trial begins, a judge allowed the Weisenbergs to be released as long as they comply with federal and local laws and not have highly explosive materials on site. But inspectors found four compressed gas cylinders marked acetylene and one marked carbon dioxide, the district attorney’s office alleged.
“This is a historic day for Watts, Jordan High School and criminal justice,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “After decades of endangering children with metal projectiles and hazardous waste, Atlas Metals has been ordered to stop accepting and processing new material, essentially shutting down operations.”
For decades, as alleged in court, Atlas Metals has recklessly allowed deadly shrapnel to be launched onto the property of Jordan High School and contaminated the school with lead and other toxic chemicals. For 70 years, as alleged in court, Atlas Metals has collected all the profits, and the children at Jordan High School have borne all the risks. This will not stand. Under my watch, environmental crimes will be punished to the full extent of the law, and those who threaten public safety, especially those who harm children, will be held accountable. I thank Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wright and Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Valenzuela of LADA’s Environmental Crimes Division for relentlessly fighting for the health and safety of the students at Jordan High School and the entire Watts community.”
After Atlas was indicted on 22 felony counts of knowingly disposing of hazardous waste without a permit and one felony count for the deposit of hazardous waste, both owners also faced two misdemeanor counts of failure to maintain or operate a facility to minimize the possibility of a fire or explosion and one count of public nuisance.
