Ryan Bassham, 35, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after an explosion at his marijuana extraction facility, Solos Extracts, near Tulsa. The blast, which occurred on Thursday, killed two of his employees, Michael Newman and Stephen Scott, and caused damage to surrounding businesses, prosecutors stated on Monday.
Mr Bassham turned himself in this weekend and was subsequently booked into a Tulsa jail before being released on a $2m bond. Prosecutors believe the employees were unlawfully manufacturing hazardous chemicals, which led to the explosion.
According to court records, a fire marshal inspecting the facility in January found an outdated fire suppression system. After the explosion, the marshal reportedly found large amounts of liquid propane and other hazardous materials that were not present during the earlier inspection.