Judge tosses manslaughter charge in deadly boat fire

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles federal judge threw out an indictment charging a dive boat captain with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people in a 2019 fire aboard a vessel anchored off the Southern California coast.

The ruling Friday came on the third anniversary of one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent U.S. history as the Conception went down in flames Sept. 2, 2019, near an island off the coast of Santa Barbara. All 33 passengers and a crew member who were trapped in a bunk room below deck died.

Captain Jerry Boylan, 68, failed to follow safety rules, federal prosecutors said. He was accused of “misconduct, negligence and inattention” by failing to train his crew, conduct fire drills and have a roving night watchman on the boat when the fire ignited.

But the indictment failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence, which U.S. District Judge George Wu said was a required element to prove the crime of seaman’s manslaughter and must be included in the indictment.

Prosecutors will seek approval from the Department of Justice to appeal the ruling, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. They can also seek a new indictment alleging gross negligence.

Boylan and four other crew members, who had all been sleeping on an upper deck, escaped from the burning boat after the captain made a panicked mayday call. Surviving crew members said the blaze prevented them from trying to reach those trapped in the bunk room. Flames blocked a stairwell and a small hatch that were the only exits from below deck, officials said. All 34 perished from smoke inhalation.

Boylan originally was indicted on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter with each carrying a possible prison term of 10 years if he was convicted. Defense lawyers sought to dismiss those charges because they argued the deaths were all the result of a single incident and were not separate crimes.

Before that issue could be argued in court, prosecutors obtained a superseding indictment in July charging Boylan only with one count of seaman’s manslaughter that alleged his negligence caused all 34 deaths. If convicted, he would have faced a maximum of 10 years in prison.