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ST. LOUIS COUNTY — A man who backed a bootleg fireworks operation pleaded guilty this week in connection with a house explosion that killed a man and three teenagers near Black Jack.

Seneca Mahan provided materials to create explosive powder that would be loaded into fireworks canisters at the home at 6680 Parker Road. The home exploded June 17, 2022.

Two of the four people who died in the explosion — Damario Cooks, 18, and his cousin Travell Eason, 16 — lived in the home. Their two friends, Christopher Jones, 17, and his brother William Jones, 21, also died.

Another child was injured but survived.

An adult had been showing the teens how to load the canisters and attach fuses, authorities said.

Mahan, 46, was a family friend of some of the victims. Two of his co-defendants are awaiting trial.

Sentencing for Mahan is set for Feb. 28. The St. Louis County prosecutor is recommending he serve 30 years in prison.

The explosion leveled a garage and demolished the four-bedroom brick home where Damario Cooks lived with his mother, three brothers, cousin and uncle. The blast shook nearby homes and blew out some neighbors’ windows. Debris rained down on a street more than a block away.

Mahan’s guilty plea Tuesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court came one day before his jury trial was to begin.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death.

Mahan also pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk of serious injury or death, and unlawful manufacture of an illegal weapon.

Prosecutors originally charged him with second-degree murder but the charge was amended to involuntary manslaughter in the plea deal.

Mahan apologized to relatives of the victims in court Tuesday, saying in part, “One day, I hope you forgive me,� according to Christopher King, a prosecutor’s spokesman. Mahan then walked toward the relatives and hugged them, King said. The relatives did not speak in court but might at sentencing.

Roshawnda Sutton was among the victims’ relatives in the courtroom. She is the mother of Christopher Jones and William Jones, who were her only children. Sutton told the Post-Dispatch it was an emotional hearing and that she forgave Mahan long ago.

“From the beginning, he was sincere,� Sutton, 41, said in an interview Wednesday. “He regretted it. He didn’t try to lawyer-up. He took responsibility for his actions. He looked like a man that regretted every moment.�

Despite the police account, Sutton is adamant that her sons were not assembling fireworks when the home exploded. She said officials told her that a forensics examination of the bodies found no chemicals on their hands. She said William was playing dominoes and charging his phone on a porch near the garage. And Christopher, she said, was at his mother’s home around the corner and became badly burned when he ran to the blast site after hearing the explosion.

“ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ weren’t putting together fireworks,â€� Sutton said. “They hadn’t even touched it.â€�

Prosecutors would not answer a reporter’s questions this week about the victims’ roles in the fireworks operation; and those details did not emerge in court Tuesday. However, a police probable cause statement from 2022 said Mahan and a co-defendant Terrell Cooks taught them how to assemble the cartridges.

Court records allege that Mahan and Terrell Cooks made “ground salutes� — fireworks launched from the ground that make a loud bang and bright flash. They directed the teenagers how to load the canisters and attach a fuse for lighting, court documents say.

The men would then sell the fireworks to a third party; neither Terrell Cooks nor Mahan had a license to make or sell fireworks, authorities said.

Mahan lives in the 4100 block of Farlin Avenue in St. Louis.

Co-defendant Terrell Cooks is charged with three counts of second-degree murder and five other felonies. Another co-defendant, Marquita Guest, is charged with unlawful manufacturing.

Cooks, of the 5600 block of Greer Avenue, is scheduled for trial March 24. Guest’s trial scheduled for Feb. 24.

Investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives uncovered evidence that numerous boxes of a chemical compound had been ordered online.

After the explosion, federal investigators saw Terrell Cooks moving boxes of chemicals used to make explosives to his vehicle, authorities said. They searched another residence and vehicles connected to Terrell Cooks and found “large quantities of completed explosive weapons and components to manufacture them,� police said.

Cardboard canisters colored red, white and blue littered the yard on Parker Road, the day after the explosion. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were among the rubble at the property, along with children’s bicycles, clothing, basketballs and a backpack.

Demario Cooks and Christopher Jones attended Hazelwood Central High School. Eason graduated from Central High School, according to his . William Jones had attended college in Arizona but left to return to St. Louis and wanted to join the military, his mother said. He is survived by a son, who turned 1 shortly before William died. William and Christopher both lived with their mother in the Black Jack area, not far from the blast site.

Heather Seaman, Damario Cooks’ mother, lived in the home that exploded. She previously told the Post-Dispatch that “they were all good kids. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ weren’t disrespectful. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were kind and none of them deserved this.â€�

Seaman has said she knew there were fireworks in the home but that the teens were not assembling them that night, and she did not know about any business selling them. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were all hanging out in the garage playing games before the explosion, she said.