OAKLAND, Calif. _ Three jurors in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire trial were removed on Monday and a judge said deliberations must start over.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson at an afternoon hearing told three alternates to take seats in the jury box, then instructed them that deliberations will start over and to disregard previous deliberations, which began 10 days ago. It was not immediately clear why three jurors were removed but it leaves only one alternate left.
Family members of some of the 36 victims in the Dec. 2, 2016, warehouse fire were summoned to the court for the announcement.
The 12-person jury sent a note to the court Monday morning, and soon after Thompson allowed only defense attorneys, defendants and prosecutors into the closed courtroom. At least two jurors were seen being escorted into the courtroom, and then back out via the elevator by a sheriff's deputy.
It appeared jurors were being questioned individually, around 10 minutes or so each during the morning session. But defense attorneys said during the noon lunch break they could not comment on what went on inside the courtroom.
Derick Almena and Max Harris have been charged with 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of three dozen people at the 2016 fire at the warehouse known as the Ghost Ship.
The original jury of nine women and three men had been deliberating since July 31. The jurors removed Monday were all women and were replaced by two men and a woman. Last week, jurors asked for read-back testimony from three witnesses: Nico Bouchard, Ryan O'Keefe and Almena himself. But then jurors changed their minds and decided not to listen to all four days of Almena's testimony in its entirety. They instead said they would let the court know if they needed portions of his testimony read back to them
On Thursday afternoon, they also asked for specific portions of testimony from Carmen Brito, a former tenant of the warehouse. It seemed the jury might be focused on the safety of the warehouse. Some of that testimony that was read back includes testimony on the warehouse's lack of a sprinkler system, and the safety of the front staircase.
