Pair plead no contest in 36 warehouse blaze deaths

OAKLAND, Calif. — As grieving relatives of victims watched and sobbed, two men each pleaded no contest Tuesday to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in a devastating fire at a dilapidated California warehouse that occurred during an unpermitted concert.

Under terms of a plea agreement, Derick Almena could be sentenced to nine years in prison and Max Harris could receive a six-year sentence. A judge will sentence them later.

With good behavior, both men could serve only half their sentences. They have been in jail for a year.

David Gregory, whose 20-yearold daughter, Michela Gregory, was among the 36 victims, said that hearing the defendants say the words “no contest” was “some small sense of justice.” Still, he was dissatisfied with the outcome.

“That’s 36 lives, you know,” he said outside court. “We wanted fair justice, and we didn’t get it.”

Authorities say the 48-year-old Almena rented the warehouse and illegally converted it into an entertainment venue and residences that became known as the “Ghost Ship” before the December 2016 blaze.

The 28-year-old Harris helped Almena collect rent and schedule concerts.

Prosecutors say the men turned the cluttered building into a “death trap” with few exits, rickety stairs and dark and dangerous passageways.

Almena lived in the warehouse with his wife and three children. The family was staying in a nearby hotel on the night of the fire. Harris also lived in the warehouse and escaped the fire unharmed.