State police have made a second arrest in connection with an illegal fireworks display that went awry, leading to multiple injuries last year during a Fourth of July celebration on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation.

Evans L. Pascal, 37, with a last known address in New London, was charged Wednesday with illegal possession of fireworks, first-degree reckless endangerment and violation of fireworks display permit regulations. Pascal is free on a $35,000 bond and scheduled to appear May 22 in New London Superior Court.

Pascal is charged in connection with his alleged involvement in lighting the fireworks display on a reservation baseball field on July 4, 2022. Police say that led to an explosion that sent fireworks into an estimated of crowd of a 100 people gathered for a private event.

Police said at least three people were treated at local hospitals, including two 13-year-olds and a 71-year-old who suffered burns.

Previously charged in connection with the fireworks explosion was Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Councilor Daniel W. Menihan, one of several people police said sponsored the event.

During an interview with police, Pascal admitted that he had assisted in setting off the fireworks display. After lighting one wick, Pascal said he noticed a whole group of fireworks on fire and a chain reaction that sent fiery projectiles into the crowd. Pascal was hit in the face, chest and legs by the exploding fireworks, police said.

Police said Pascal did not have the appropriate certification to light the fireworks and the entire display was never approved by any state or local officials as mandated by state law. The fireworks were shot from tubes secured to wooden planks.

Based on flyers advertising the event, police determined the sponsors of the event to be Menihan, Merrill “Marvin” Reels, who also is a tribal councilor, and Jeffrey Jones. Police said Pequot Trading Post owner Kenneth Reels, a former Mashantucket tribal chairman, had supplied the fireworks for the event, according to social media posts at the time. When contacted by police, Kenneth Reels declined to speak to investigators and retained legal representation, according to the affidavit.

The two arrests follow a months-long investigation that Mashantucket Pequot police began but state police detectives completed. Three tribal police officers resigned over the course of the investigation, the arrest warrant affidavit shows. The warrant in the case does not explain the resignations but notes the difficulty authorities had in contacting and speaking with some of the people involved in the event.

Detective Sgt. Marc Cardin, Detective Scott Johnson and Officer Mike Bouchard resigned. The case was assigned to the state police on Nov. 7, 2022.