OAKLAND, Calif. _ In an emotional moment in an Oakland courtroom on Thursday, prosecutor David Lim read out the names of the 36 victims of last year's Ghost Ship fire as family and friends put their arms around each other and wiped away tears.
Two former residents of the warehouse, Derick Almena and Max Harris, face 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for their alleged involvement in the deadly fire on Dec. 2, 2016, in East Oakland. During the six-day preliminary hearing, it was the first time evidence was presented.
Harris' attorney Curtis Briggs said outside the courtroom Thursday afternoon that the hearing so far has been "an indictment on the city of Oakland," and that the landlord is to be blamed, not his client.
Testimony from Oakland Fire Marshal Miguel Trujillo on Thursday morning revealed that the building at 1305 31st Ave., commonly referred to as Sutya Yuga or the Ghost Ship, had not been formally inspected since it was built in 1930.
An alleged one-page document that fire Capt. George Freelen testified to filling out in September 2014, after visiting the warehouse when he was a lieutenant with the department, cannot be found.
"It's been lost," said Almena's attorney Tony Serra.
He claimed that the local firefighters at the nearby Station 13 were "friendly" with his client, and they "wanted to look the other way," he said.
Almena and Nicholas "Nico" Bouchard signed a lease agreement with the building owners, the Ng family, in 2013 for the warehouse space, outlining in the lease that the use of the warehouse would be an art collective "to build and create theatrical sets and offer workshops for community outreach."
In a cross-examination of Trujillo by Serra, Trujillo agreed that if the owners rented the space as an art collective, without getting city permission for a change in use, that it would be a violation of the city code.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Horner is expected to rule Thursday afternoon if the case should be sent to trial.
During Thursday's hearing, Lim read out the names of the 36 victims as part of a stipulation, or agreed upon statement by all attorneys, that the 36 people all died of smoke inhalation around 11:25 p.m. the night of Dec. 2, 2016.
During the somber moment, the mother of Michela Gregory, 20, cried, a friend putting her arm around her as her daughter's name, and the name of her daughter's boyfriend, Alex Vega, 22, were read aloud. The Gregorys have been present every day of the preliminary hearing.
Briggs also placed an arm on the back of his client, Harris, whose supporters also quietly cried, their sniffles audible as Lim read the names.
Oakland Assistant Fire Marshal Maria Sabatini testified on Wednesday that officials were able to determine the Dec. 2, 2016, fire started in the northwest corner of the building. Investigators, however, were not able to determine a cause.
She did state, in cross-examination by Almena's attorney Brian Getz, that the cause was likely an electrical failure, but they were not able to determine that as a fact. She said investigators could not rule out candles, other open flames, or arson as a possible cause, although it was unlikely because of the lack of evidence, she said.
Sabatini said that two refrigerators in the bottom floor area were determined not to have been the heat source for the fire.
The "sheer amount" of materials inside the warehouse _ including RVs, campers, pianos, other instruments as well as art, and furniture _ contributed significantly to the fire, she said.
Sabatini stated that the fire may have originated higher up in the warehouse, not on the second floor but in a loft space located above the first floor.
