Ghost Ship fire defendant wants trial, not deal
One of the two men charged with manslaughter in Oakland’s Ghost Ship fire case now wants to “vindicate himself ” at trial rather than make a plea deal, his attorney said Monday while laying out a defense that blamed the property owners for electrical problems believed to be behind the catastrophic blaze in the underground artist collective.
“We feel that we can get a fair trial in Alameda County, specifically for Max Harris,” attorney Curtis Briggs told reporters after a hearing in Alameda County Superior Court. “So we’re going to move forward with the jury here in this county.”
Briggs said he would seek to shift blame for the 2016 blaze that killed 36 people at an unsanctioned music event to the owners of the
building, who he said had long ignored its electrical problems. Research conducted by the defense teams suggested local juries would be receptive to the theory, Briggs said.
Attorneys for both Harris and co-defendant Derick Almena withdrew their motion to move the trial to another county. But the defendants are split on their desire for a trial.
Almena’s attorney, Tony Serra, is filing a motion to have his client’s earlier plea deal restored. Should that fail, Serra said his client also wants a local judge and jury.
“Obviously we hope our motions are granted,” he said. “If they’re not, we’re ready to go.”
In August, Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer rejected a deal for Almena, who was master tenant of the Ghost Ship warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood, because he wasn’t convinced of Almena’s remorse. Since the plea agreement was a package deal, Harris, the former creative director of the artist collective, also had his set aside.
The men had each pleaded no contest to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter as part of the vetoed deal. Almena, 48, would have been sentenced to nine years in county jail — excluding time already served — and Harris, 28, would have received a six-year sentence.
A months-long investigation by local and federal arson experts could not determine the fire’s cause but found the building was not equipped with sprinklers or an automatic fire detection system. An assistant fire marshal of the Oakland Fire Department testified during a preliminary hearing that an electrical issue probably ignited the blaze.
Briggs on Monday said evidence pointed to electrical problems not only inside the Ghost Ship but the larger property that included the warehouse. In an effort to cut costs, the owners of the building had paid an unlicensed contractor to upgrade the electrical infrastructure for about a dozen tenants, the attorney contended. The tenants had complained to the owners, the Ng family, about the issue, he said.
“There was an ongoing effort, that none of the Ghost Ship people were even aware of, to upgrade substandard electrical infrastructure,” Briggs said. “This is a complete dialogue that the public has not heard of that lasted for two years prior to this fire.”
The building is owned by Chor Ng, who was not charged in the case but faces civil litigation stemming from it. Ng’s attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. Her daughter, Eva Ng, told reporters the day after the fire that her mother was unaware of anyone living in the Ghost Ship.
Mary Alexander, lead counsel for the victims’ families in the civil case, said the families want to see a trial in the criminal case and want the two defendants held accountable. Harris and Almena, she said, “were there, on the ground, building out this area, and (they) did know about electrical problems in this building.”
Almena and Harris lived in the two-story warehouse with about 20 other people, including Almena’s wife and their young children. The building had no city permits for residency or for the concerts and shows held there. There was an electronic music party going on, with about 100 people inside, when the fire broke out.
Prosecutors said guests and residents were endangered by the warehouse’s makeshift electrical system and floor-toceiling load of pianos, wooden sculptures, pallets, motor campers, rugs, benches, tree limbs and tapestries. The 36 victims, ages 17 to 61, died of smoke inhalation.
The defendants are scheduled to return to court Nov. 9, when they may be assigned a judge to oversee the case going forward.