The Ripon woman who told a Sacramento-area news station that her family was treated unfairly by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office during an illegal fireworks raid had been cited for illegal fireworks before.

During a press conference last week when Sheriff Pat Withrow and District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar congratulated the men and women that worked to remove nearly five tons — just under 10,000 pounds — of illegal fireworks from San Joaquin County Streets, the DA opened up about some of the history associated with the addressed that was raided by law enforcement officials.

Nicole McCurdy, who was at home with her children when deputies arrived and instructed everybody to come out of the house with their hands up over a speaker, told multiple outlets that she felt that they were not treated fairly — claiming that the fireworks that were on the premises were “safe and sane” fireworks that were purchased out of state for a neighborhood fireworks show.

Verber Salalzar, who has made going after illegal fireworks use and sales a priority for her office, spoke about the issue but didn’t specifically mention McCurdy by name.

“First of all, the mother who spoke — she has a prior from 2021 where she was cited by the Ripon Police Department and referred to the Ripon City Attorney for a violation of their illegal fireworks municipal code section,” Verber Salazar said. “She was prosecuted by the Ripon City attorney and received community service for her time.

“She had notice and knowledge that this was a crime, and that there’s consequences to it.”

McCurdy’s son, Christian, was ultimately arrested by deputies in Tracy later the same day. He admitted to officers on camera that there were illegal fireworks in the house.

After an outcry on social media over what some in the public felt were heavy-handed tactics, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office released a YouTube video that showed multiple facets of the case, including bodycam footage of deputies shooting a dog that was charging them with less-than-lethal rounds, social media posts presumably from Christian that showed illegal aerial fireworks for sale, pictures of a ledger that showed illegal fireworks were being sold, and body cam footage that showed deputies interviewing McCurdy about what was going on and professionally answering any and all questions that were asked.

The evidence presented in the video clearly contrasted the online narrative that deputies used “excessive force” or acted in any way outside of the realm of professional when serving the search warrant back on June 15.

During the same press conference, Verber Salazar said that so far, all of the cases that have been advanced by her office pertaining to illegal fireworks have been felony cases — with fines that could reach up to $50,000 and/or up to three years in the San Joaquin County Jail.

She clarified that the statute calls felony charges when somebody is found to be in possession of illegal fireworks in excess of 100 pounds.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.