SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Yolo Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a request to allow the families of seven workers killed in the Esparto fireworks warehouse explosion to wear clothing or have other visual displays of the victims inside the courtroom.

The seven workers killed in the powerful blast in Yolo County were Jesús Ramos, 18; Jhony Ramos, 22; Joel “Junior” Melendez, 28; Carlos Rodriguez-Mora, 43; Angel Matthew Voller, 18; Christopher Bocog, 45; and Neil Li, 41. They died July 1 when the explosion leveled the Devastating Pyrotechnics fireworks warehouse.

Five of the eight people indicted by a Yolo County criminal grand jury, including former Yolo County sheriff’s Lt. Samuel Machado, face murder charges for their alleged involvement in what led to the deadly warehouse explosion.

The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion asking Judge Daniel Maguire to modify the court rule and allow the victims’ families to have visual displays of commemoration at least until the judge brings in potential jurors for jury selection in the trial, which has not been scheduled.

Matt Voller, Angel Voller’s father, told the judge that wearing a shirt with a photo of his son provides him comfort in these hearings outside the presence of a jury. “It’s all we have left,” he said.

Defense attorneys for six of the eight accused defendants in court Wednesday afternoon objected to the prosecution’s request. The attorneys argued that allowing such visual displays of the victims in the courtroom could potentially challenge the court’s ability to choose an impartial jury for the trial.

The judge agreed with the defense attorneys and denied the prosecution’s request.

“Everyone has an interest in trial integrity. Nobody wants two trials,” Maguire said during his ruling. “We don’t want to do this over again.”

Among the six defendants in court Wednesday was Craig Allen Cutright, 61, who faces nine felony charges including illegal possession of explosives, transportation of an explosive or destructive device and criminal conspiracy. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of a destructive device.

Cutright, the former Esparto volunteer firefighter, founded BlackStar Fireworks. The company, along with Devastating Pyrotechnics, leased the storage warehouse at 18080 County Road 86A in Esparto where the explosion occurred.

Cutright, who has been in custody at the Yolo County Jail since his April 9 arrest, was scheduled to return Wednesday afternoon for his continued arraignment. On Monday, Judge Daniel Maguire approved a $500,000 bail bond for the former volunteer firefighter.

While Cutright has already posted his bail bond, he has not been allowed to leave the jail. Darryl Stallworth, Cutright’s attorney, said the court order instructed sheriff’s officials to only allow Cutright to be released from the jail with a GPS monitor bracelet on his ankle supplied at his own cost.

Stallworth told the judge there are no companies in Yolo County that provide this service. He said one company can install the GPS device at the jail, but that can’t happen until Tuesday. Stallworth said another company can do it this week, but its policy is not to install the GPS at the jail. Cutright’s attorney asked the court to modify the order and allow his client to provide proof of the GPS device at his next hearing.

Maguire denied the defense attorney’s request, saying the court is not “willing to bend” the court order because it can’t happen sooner than later. This means Cutright will have to remain in jail until next Tuesday.

The judge scheduled Cutright, along with co-defendants Douglas Michael Tollefsen, Gary Y. Chan Jr. and Jack Y. Lee to return to court June 1 for their continued arraignment hearing. They have not entered a plea in this criminal case.

The former sheriff’s lieutenant, Machado, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge also scheduled him to return to court June 1 for continued proceedings.

Tammy Machado, a former Yolo County sheriff’s legal assistant and Samuel Machado’s wife, has also pleaded not guilty to allegations of mortgage fraud and other charges related to the fireworks operation. She is scheduled to return to court June 4.

Ronald John Botelho, another co-defendant in the explosion case, remained in custody Monday at the Del Norte County Jail, records show. The Yolo DA’s Office and the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office arrested Botelho in Crescent City in December on misdemeanor and felony fireworks charges in connection with the Esparto investigation.

Kenneth Kin Chee, the founder and CEO of Devastating Pyrotechnics who was arrested April 9 at a Disney World resort near Orlando, Florida, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday afternoon for his arraignment. Jail records show that Chee was in custody Wednesday in Yolo County.

In the days after the Esparto explosion last July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Chee, 48, worked as an optician for a San Jose-area Costco and had been denied a fireworks license because of a previous felony conviction.

Chee faces seven counts of murder and three counts of insurance fraud, along with charges of possessing and transporting explosive or destructive devices, criminal conspiracy and unlawfully causing a fire.

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