Judge: Pair to stand trial in Ghost Ship tragedy

OAKLAND — Two former residents of the warehouse, Derick Almena and Max Harris, were held to answer on 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for their alleged involvement in the deadly Ghost Ship fire on Dec. 2, 2016, in East Oakland, a judge said Thursday.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Horner’s ruling means Almena and Harris’ cases will go to trial.

Earlier, 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 fire as family and friends put their arms around each other and wiped away tears. 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 had been “an indictment on the city of Oakland,” and that the landlord is to be blamed, not his client.

During his closing argument Thursday, Almena’s attorney Tony Serra 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.”

Prosecutor Autrey James argued that both Almena and Harris were criminally negligent. He said Almena, on his own, changed the use of the building, allowing upward of 25 people to live in a space that was legally only supposed to be a warehouse. Almena ordered change to the space, including building a staircase, all without proper permits, he said.