OAKLAND, Calif. _ Former Ghost Ship tenants Derick Almena and Max Harris, each facing 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, entered not-guilty pleas Tuesday morning in Alameda County Superior Court and could have a jury trial in July.
The pair are charged in the deaths of 36 people attending a dance party on Dec. 2, 2016 at the East Oakland warehouse. Both appeared in court on Tuesday before Judge James Cramer to enter pleas, Harris wearing red-and-white striped jail clothes, with a purple long-sleeved shirt, his once-blue hair now faded into natural brown. Almena was not visible from the gallery of the courtroom.
A trial date for the case was set for July 16. The charges against Harris and Almena allege the pair ignored fire codes and obvious safety controls for the warehouse. They were held to answer on the 36 counts in December 2017, after an emotionally charged preliminary hearing attended by family and friends of the victims.
Almena's attorney Tony Serra, during his closing arguments at the December hearing, pushed back against blame. "How can they say my client is negligent when they don't even know how the fire started?" Serra said. "The city sitting on its hands was far more culpable than my client."
Serra repeated on Tuesday that there was never a confirmed cause of the fire _ of how and where it started in the warehouse art collective. He also pointed out that fire inspectors, Child Protective Services and the sheriff's office made inspections of the warehouse before the fire, and "all looked the other way."
"Everyone saw what was in there, saw it was occupied...they thought it was awesome, it was beautiful," Serra said.
Harris' attorney Curtis Briggs made a similar point on Tuesday, saying that "If the Ghost Ship tragedy is a crime, it's the city of Oakland that committed that crime."
He reiterated that his client has been a scapegoat for the tragedy.
"What this prosecution has become is simply an opportunity for them to run from the truth," Briggs said.
He said his client was nothing more than a resident that lived there, who is now "fighting for his life, in a different sense," and feels that the jury is going to feel that.
The next court date in the case will be March 21 for motion to reduce bail for each defendant. Briggs is asking that his client be released on his own recognizance. Serra cited a new case that leaves him feeling "very optimistic" for his client. He said
In April, Serra and Briggs will bring forth a motion to dismiss charges, and ask a different judge to look at the record and see if the case should move forward.
