Ghost Ship Trial Handed to Jury, Victims' Families Await Verdict

The jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the trial of two men, each charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deadly 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland.

The prosecution, in closing arguments Monday, said the actions of master tenant Derick Almena and Max Harris, who has been referred to as creative director and second-in-command, amounted to criminal negligence. They argued the warehouse was illegally converted into an unsafe living space with complete disregard for safety, violating nine fire codes.

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Autrey James argued Monday that the 35 concertgoers and one tenant who died the night of an electronic music party on Dec. 2, 2016, didn't have enough notice, time or the ability to exit, due to a lack of sprinklers, smoke detectors, alarms and adequate exit signage.

James also argued that Almena almost immediately violated the terms of the lease he signed in November 2013, by allowing people to live there.

The defense, in closing arguments Tuesday, pointed to testimony by many former tenants and visitors who said they felt the Ghost Ship was safe.

The defense also argued that personnel from several agencies, including Oakland's police and fire departments, as well as Child Protective Services, had passed through the warehouse dozens of times in the years leading up to the fire and had never flagged the building, never red-tagged it or issued any eviction notices.

Both Curtis Briggs, who represents Harris, and Tony Serra, who represents Almena, also argued Tuesday that testimony by at least seven witnesses pointed to arson as the cause of the deadly conflagration, and that Almena and Harris couldn't have done anything to prevent it.

Prosecution Rebuts Defense's Closing Arguments

On Wednesday, Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Autrey James gave his rebuttal to the defense's closing arguments, disputing testimony that the Ghost Ship was safe.

"If the place was safe, why aren't those 36 people here with us today?" James asked, while showing an image of all 36 victims on a court TV. "Because it was a death trap to 36 people."

He asked why Almena had suggested to Ghost Ship tenants that they buy fire extinguishers, and why there were rules against open flames in the warehouse.

James then went on to rebut a list of arguments posed by the defense on Tuesday.

Pointing to a blank black screen on an unused court display, James said it represented the amount of evidence supporting arson as the cause of the blaze.

"There is no evidence of reasonable doubt because of arson," James said. "What do reasonable people do in a fire? They run out. That's what reasonable people do."

In part, the jury's instructions say that if previous testimony regarding arson raises a reasonable doubt as to the defendants' guilt, then they must find the defendants not guilty.

James was specifically taking aim at previous testimony several witnesses gave about a group of unidentified individuals fleeing through a side exit following an argument just before the fire began. He also said testimony showed there was no evidence of Molotov cocktails being used the night of the fire, as Serra has conjectured.

He also disputed testimony from Sharon Evans, who said she saw the fire between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Witness testimony puts the fire's ignition after 11 p.m. Official accounts put it closer to 11:20 p.m. James also said Evans' testimony about driving around the warehouse 20 times as it burned, noticing no fire engines or people outside, wasn't reasonable.

"Ms. Evans' story was not believable," James said.

James also argued against statements made by Almena's defense attorney Serra, in which Serra called the whole prosecution a "scam," and said Almena was a scapegoat for the city.

"The only conspiracy in this case was by the occupants [to lie about occupancy]," James said.

He also said the defendants were going to point fingers at anyone else, including landlords Kai and Eva Ng, Ben Cannon, who did electrical work at the warehouse, and the city of Oakland.

"Not once have [the defendants] taken responsibility," James said, and then played video of Almena giving an interview to a local TV station in which he said the "whole structure of my defense is pointing and blaming."

Almena testified previously that he didn't blame anybody for the fire.

James also pointed to a law saying that it's not a defense if a defendant doesn't know the law. He argued that not knowing the law is thus not a defense to involuntary manslaughter, pointing to violations of fire code.

He also assailed the idea that since the fire and police departments, as well as Child Protective Services, had passed through the Ghost Ship and hadn't cited the building, that Almena and Harris should have concluded that everything they were doing was OK.

James said CPS are not building inspectors, that police have no training in building codes, and that while fire personnel are responsible for inspecting buildings, it is the role of building inspectors to shut a building down.

Victims' Families and Friends Wait for Verdict

Outside court, approximately 20 relatives and friends of the victims gathered to address the media.

Colleen Dolan, mother of fire victim Chelsea Faith Dolan, said the victims' relatives had become a family.

"We were brought together by our loved ones," Dolan said.

"Our lost family members brought us together, because they loved and they respected each other, and they were together for a reason. They were together because their relationships with each other were important to them. And we honor that by standing up for each other."

Read KQED's complete coverage of the Ghost Ship trial.