OAKLAND, Calif. _ In a stunning development, a judge on Friday rejected plea deals for two men held responsible for the deadly Ghost Ship fire, apparently moved by the emotional testimony over two days from the families of the 36 victims.
Unless another plea deal is accepted, the case could go to trial.
Judge James Cramer's decision came after family members met with prosecutors during the lunch break on Friday and said they were not convinced defendants Derick Almena and Max Harris were sincere in apologizing for the tragic Dec. 2, 2016 fire. Many had earlier asked the judge to reject the plea bargain.
"I thought I needed more time but I don't," said Cramer, who earlier was expected to wait a week to decide. "Rather than accepting full responsibility and remorse" Almena deflected responsibility, he said.
Judge Cramer said it was a 30-something page letter Almena wrote in his probation report that Cramer "can't get away from," convincing him of his lack of remorse.
"There are those crippled with hate and ridicule. Those what will never recognize me and my family as a victim. I'm a victim and a witness," Cramer said, reading from Almena's letter.
The judge said Almena shifted blame to others, and did not acknowledge responsibility in the letter.
The plea bargain had called for Almena to serve nine years and Harris to serve six after pleading no contest to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. With time served and good behavior, each man could have been released within about three years.
Judge Cramer, who seemed to struggle with the decision, at times taking long pauses, said he believed the resolution to Harris was fair, and that Harris expressed remorse. But because the plea deal was a "packaged deal," it meant that by rejecting Almena's deal, he rejected them both.
When the judge said he would reject the plea, some family members cheered, and clapped their hands briefly. The aunt of one of the victims covered her mouth as she gasped and wept.
Earlier in the day, Almena, the master tenant of the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, and Harris, its creative director, addressed the court on the second day of their sentencing hearing.
Almena stood up in a courtroom and told families of the 36 people who burned in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire on Dec. 2, 2016 he's been legally blamed for that he should have perished with them.
"I should have died that night. It would have been an honor to try and save your families' souls," Almena said.
"I'm guilty," he said. "I'm guilty for believing we were safe."
After an emotional hearing the day before in which families of the deceased spoke about how deeply the loss of their loved ones affected them, Almena and Harris sat at the witness stand to address the packed courtroom.
"Forgive me if you can. I'm sorry," Almena said. He and his family stayed in an Oakland hotel on that deadly night. "If I could give each of you my life, and my children's lives, I would."
When he said that, Almena's wife Micah Allison, who was sitting with their 14-year-old daughter in the courtroom, visibly shook her head.
It was that statement, prosecutor Autrey James told the court Friday afternoon, that victims' family members felt was the most egregious.
"To them, that was the most offensive thing they heard," James said.
He said every family member he spoke with did not agree to the agreed-upon plea terms.
Harris, dressed in red-and-white striped jail clothes, his long hair pulled back, apologized repeatedly, but acknowledged that "words are empty."
"I am so deeply sorry my actions, in actions, lack of awareness and foresight that contributed to this tragedy," Harris said.
He also said he couldn't ask the families to forgive him.
"I don't expect forgiveness, I wouldn't ask for that. I know nothing I can say will come close. I'm sorry," Harris said.
Since the fire, Harris said he has been praying for the victims and their families constantly.
Almena's 14-year-old daughter also spoke. In defending her father, she said the warehouse was a safe place where she and her two younger siblings lived.
"But that's not my place," she said.
In her statement, she told the court she got ready for school inside the warehouse, brushed her teeth and ate dinner there for three years. "It was where my father wanted to raise his children in an environment that harbored love and beauty," said the girl, the oldest of Almena's three children.
The girl stated her father is not a selfish person, but caring and compassionate. She too apologized to the victims' families.
Several people wrote or had statements read into the record on behalf of Harris, including his mother and aunt. Attorney Tyler Smith read one from Carmen Brito, who lived at the Ghost Ship and escaped the flames. Brito said that as she ran out, Harris ran toward the fire, yelling for people to get out, saving at least 12 people people.
Before Friday's hearing, victims' families met with Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley to express how upset they were at the plea deal and the way they were notified of it. Family members also questioned O'Malley about whether she planned to charge the landlords, Chor Ng and her two children, Kai and Eva.
