Once-prominent scientist will turn himself in, Stanislaus prosecutors say
The director of a Riverbank company, alleged to be responsible for a chemical explosion, will turn himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest earlier this month .
Henry “Mic” Meeks, 77, faces felony charges of illegal storage, transport and dumping of highly flammable magnesium-aluminum powder, also known as magnalium. Barrels of the material are believed to be the cause of a March 2025 fire and explosion that injured a sanitation worker in Riverbank, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.
The DA’s Office said Meeks, through his attorney, arranged to turn himself in on Friday after his plant manager, 36-year-old Phillip Whitmore, was arrested March 4. Whitmore admitted to the crimes, according to chief investigator Terry Seese.
Prosecutors allege that as his company — Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies LLC — was shutting down, Meeks decided to illegally dispose of the materials at his plant instead of going through the expensive process of doing it properly.
The DA’s Office also alleges that Meeks knew, or disregarded, how dangerous magnalium is and the harm it could cause if not properly disposed of. By doing so, prosecutors say, he put the lives and safety of others at risk.
Though a sanitation worker suffered minor injuries in the 2025 explosion, a possible crisis was avoided. Responding firefighters doused the barrels with water, not knowing what was contained within. The reaction created hydrogen gas, which caused a secondary explosion.
The flames eventually were extinguished with dirt and heavy material. No firefighters were reported injured.
“The District Attorney’s Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes… We will pursue every appropriate legal action to ensure that those who put the public in danger are held accountable,” said Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero in a statement.
Why Meeks, a once-respected expert in metallurgy with government connections, allegedly would authorize the dumping of a substance he likely knew was dangerous may have to do with a lawsuit involving the Army.
Lawsuit over Army equipment
Meeks is the founder and acting director of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies, or AM2T — a small, very specialized company that operates out of the former Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant.
The plant, now known as the Riverbank Industrial Center, was a major producer of aluminum and munitions for the military during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. At its peak, the plant had 2,000 workers, and it operated until 2010.
But careless handling of chemicals over the years left chromium, cyanide, PCBs and other contaminants scattered across the site. In 1978, the U.S. Department of Defense began an investigation into the contamination that lasted more than a decade . Cleanup was assigned to the Army, which still owns the site, but didn’t begin until 1989.
After years of cleanup, the Army transitioned the plant for use by the private sector, eventually handing over control to the city of Riverbank. In 2010, AM2T signed a lease with the city, on the condition it had the option to purchase the Army’s old hydraulic presses.
In 2023, AM2T sued Riverbank, claiming it was forced to shut down its operations because the city had not handed over the presses, which the company said were necessary for its business. AM2T claimed potential sales between 2010 and 2022 were lost because of this.
Riverbank did not deliver the presses, the city countered, because the Army deemed them contaminated with PCBs and was unable to properly clean them for safe use. The Army never issued a bill of sale to the city, Riverbank claims, and therefore, the city cannot sell equipment it doesn’t own.
AM2T demanded $1.5 million from Riverbank, but the city made a counteroffer of $10,000.
The lawsuit is scheduled for a jury trial June 16. Christina Pritchard, an attorney representing Riverbank, said Meeks’ arrest warrant was news to her and could mean the trial is delayed if Meeks is incarcerated.
“I think the ball would really be in his attorney’s court at that point,” said Pritchard.
Meeks’ attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Fall from grace
Meeks’ work with the government goes back decades, as does his former prominence in the science and technology community. He is a member of a National Warheads and Energetics Consortium committee and held at least two board positions for an international standards organization.
Before founding AM2T, Meeks served as vice president of the Carmichael-based Ceracon Inc., which secured several government contracts. Between 1990 and 2002, Ceracon received $1.6 million from the DOD, NASA, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Energy to develop various technologies. It’s unclear when or how Meeks left Ceracon. However, the company closed down in 2006.
In several Ceracon contracts on which Meeks is listed, the company’s address is a single-family home in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville. AM2T’s address on its 2010 DOD contract is Meek’s 6,000-square-foot home worth $2.5 million, located just outside Reno.
AM2T supplied powdered metals and provided forging services for high-tech companies and the government. In 2009 and 2010, AM2T was awarded over $200,000 worth of contracts by the DOD’s Missile Defense Agency to produce “smart sensor materials” for use on objects that enter space.
In 2014, Meeks consulted on an Air Force Research Laboratory study on the properties of copper-diamond composites, which were provided by AM2T. Meeks is thanked in the acknowledgements section.
Meeks’ investigation was carried out by the newly formed Stanislaus DA’s Environmental Crime Task Force, a collaboration between the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, hazardous materials specialists from the Stanislaus County Environmental Resources Department and the Modesto Fire Department.
Whitmore was arraigned on March, according to Seese.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM.
