CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Macomb County judge has sent a manslaughter case against a Clinton Township business owner, whose stored gas canisters exploded and killed a Clinton Township teenager, back to a lower court.
Circuit Court Judge Michael E. Servitto issued the order Friday, returning the case against Noor Noel Kestou, 33, of Commerce, to Clinton Township District Court for further proceedings, according to a release from the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
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Prosecutors allege that a building owned and operated by Kestou caught fire while it was packed with thousands of nitrous oxide and butane canisters.
The blaze set off a massive explosion, sending canisters flying through the air.
One nitrous oxide canister reportedly traveled about a quarter mile before striking 19-year-old Turner Salter of Clinton Township in the head. Salter died from his injuries.
Kestou faces one count of involuntary manslaughter, a felony that carries up to 15 years in prison.
In December 2025, Kestou’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing that the fire, not how Kestou stored the canisters, was the direct cause of Salter’s death.
Officials said both sides filed legal briefs, and Judge Servitto heard oral arguments on January 26, 2026, before issuing his ruling roughly two months later.
The judge agreed that prosecutors had not sufficiently established what’s called proximate cause at the district court level, the legal requirement that a defendant’s actions be closely enough connected to a victim’s death to hold that person responsible.
Without that foundation in place, Judge Servitto found the district court had abused its discretion when it previously concluded that Kestou’s storage of the hazardous materials was the proximate cause of Salter’s death.
The case now returns to district court so prosecutors can present evidence to build that legal argument, according to the release.
“The situation on March 4, 2024, posed extraordinary danger to our community and to first responders. Tragically, a young man lost his life,” said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. “With the court’s order, this matter now returns to the district court. My duty is to seek justice for the victim and his family, and I remain committed to that objective.”