Plea deal reached for Ghost Ship defendants
Judge ordered everyone to return to court Tuesday
OAKLAND >> In a late bid to avoid a jury trial set for July 16, the two men charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 people reached a plea deal Friday, according to a defense attorney.
Details of the deal will remain confidential at least until Tuesday,
The plea deal was reached late afternoon after more than two hours of negotiations in the judge’s chambers, defense attorney Tyler Smith told the Bay Area News Group. Smith represents codefendant Max Harris.
“We are forbidden to talk until Tuesday,” Tony Serra, who represents co-defendant Derick Almena, said as he left the courthouse.
Alameda County Superior
Court Judge Morris Jacobson ordered everyone to return to court that day to conclude any pretrial motions.
Earlier in the day, Serra indicated both defendants had tentatively agreed to an eight-year prison sentence but warned that talks could break down in Jacobson’s chambers.
Both defendants appeared in court, Almena wearing red jail clothes with his hair pulled back in a ponytail and Harris wearing red-and-white jail clothes.
By taking the plea deals, Almena and Harris could avoid potential life sentences in prison if convicted by a jury.
Prosecutors David Lim and Autrey James, Serra and Harris’ attorneys Curtis Briggs and Smith took turns speaking with Jacobson in the afternoon.
At one point, Lim and James disappeared from the courtroom for an hour. When they returned, Jacobson asked the audience to leave the courtroom while he spoke to Almena and his attorneys.
Plea deals for Almena, 48, and Harris, 28, were first discussed earlier this month by their defense attorneys, prosecutors and Jacobson. Almena and Harris face 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for the Dec. 2, 2016, warehouse fire that killed three dozen people.
If convicted on all counts — one for each person killed in the fire — Almena and Harris could face sentences equivalent to life in prison, given their ages.
Harris’ attorneys previously stated they would consider credit for time served, while Almena’s said at the last court hearing they wanted to go to trial.
In an interview with KTVU earlier this week, Almena told the TV station he wasn’t doing well in jail, had gained weight, was depressed and ready to take a deal.
“I wanted to offer myself up some level of responsibility,” Almena told KTVU.
“I don’t think anyone is going to win this trial; it’s already a tragedy,” he said later.
The trial was expected to last at least four months, and prosecutors planned to call 30 or 40 witnesses from a list of 50 potential ones. Briggs and Serra said they expected to each call 10 to the stand.