Defense attorneys look ahead to Ghost Ship trial
With plea deals apparently off the table, trial is expected to start as early as January
OAKLAND » It appears that any potential plea deals for Ghost Ship defendants Derick Almena and Max Harris are off the table as their attorneys announced Friday that they’re looking forward to a trial.
Almena, 48, and Harris, 28, appeared in court Friday morning before Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer; the two are accused of 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter each for the deaths of those who perished in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire on Dec. 2, 2016. The case, which was expected to be resolved last week with their sentencing, was instead continued three weeks for a potential trial date.
Attorneys said a trial is likely as early as January, if not February. Almena’s attorney, Tony Serra, said he will make motions in November for a change of venue, so that the trial could be heard outside of Alameda County, to avoid a tainted jury. Courthouses in
Redwood City, Martinez and San Jose were mentioned as possibilities by the defense.
Just one week ago, Almena
and Harris were expected to be sentenced to jail time, after having agreed to
a plea deal: Almena would have received nine years in jail, and Harris six. But in an unexpected twist, Judge Cramer rejected the plea after an emotional twoday hearing, where family members of the 36 people who died in the fire made it clear to the judge that they weren’t satisfied with the agreement. Cramer said he believed Almena was not remorseful enough.
Curtis Briggs, attorney for Harris, said they originally accepted the plea bargain because “The District Attorney’s Office made an
offer we couldn’t refuse.” But now, they are looking forward to trial, and for the opportunity to prove that his client is innocent.
“We feel refreshed and excited,” he said outside the courtroom Friday.
He said prosecutors were “schizophrenic” in the way they have been prosecuting the case, as they now “flip-flopped because they couldn’t handle the pressure from victims’ families.” He called upon District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to try the case personally herself.
O’Malley and her prosecutors sent a letter to Judge Cramer this week informing him that the prosecution would no longer accept any
negotiations for a plea bargain on this case. An “open plea” was still a possibility, where the defendants could essentially negotiate a deal with the judge, without the prosecution. That now does not seem likely, as attorneys said they’re moving forward with a trial.
“I never wanted to avoid a jury trial,” Serra said.
Briggs said he will file a motion to try and sever the two defendants in separate cases, but is not hopeful it will be granted.
The two defendants will next appear in court on Sept. 7 to potentially set a trial date.