Trial date set for Ghost Ship fire defendants

After plea deal pulled, Almena, Harris will be in court April 2

OAKLAND >> Two Ghost Ship warehouse tenants facing 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter are headed to trial in April, a month after a judge pulled the plug on a plea deal.

Alameda Superior Court Judge James Cramer set a trial date of April 2 on Friday for defendants Derick Almena and Max Harris.

Prosecutors allege Almena and Harris created a fire danger at the cluttered Fruitvale district warehouse where 36 people died in a fire Dec. 2, 2016 while attending an electronic music concert. Under a plea bargain arranged by Judge Morris Jacobson, Almena would have served nine years in jail and Harris six years. With time served and good behavior, each could have been released within three years.

But Cramer, who was filling in for Jacobson at a sentencing hearing in August, rejected the deal after listening to statements from family and friends of the victims. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has now said it will not offer another plea bargain. On Friday, Almena and Harris each re-entered pleas of not guilty.

“They want a trial, they are going to get a trial,”

Almena’s attorney, Tony Serra, said Friday outside of court. “We are eager to show our client’s innocence.”

But the attorney is also seeking to avoid a trial, if possible. Last month, Serra filed a motion asking the court to uphold the plea bargain Judge Cramer rejected. It will be heard Oct. 12 before another judge and, if rejected, Serra said he will file an appeal. The attorney is also requesting the proceedings move to another county and is conducting

a survey of potential jurors to figure out if his client can get a fair trial in Alameda County. He accused the press of “assassinating” his client. A judge will rule on the change of venue motion on Nov. 2.

Attorneys for Almena and Harris on Friday said the city, its police, firefighters, inspectors and even Mayor Libby Schaaf will be called to testify to display what Oakland knew about the warehouse and why it wasn’t shut down. The building had been converted to housing even though it was zoned for commercial use.

Police visited the 31st Avenue building frequently and on multiple occasions threatened to shutter it, according to body camera footage obtained by this newspaper. At a preliminary hearing last year, a fire captain said he and other firefighters went inside the warehouse during a party and he later sent a report to the fire prevention bureau questioning the use of the facility. The city could not find the document, the fire marshal testified later.

Despite the visits, the fire department never inspected the building.