On Monday, it was announced that the pair of men who were charged with involuntary manslaughter for a December 2016 fire that killed 36 people (after a blaze broke out in an Oakland warehouse known as "Ghost Ship") were expected to accept plea deals for those charges.
48-year-old Derick Ion Almena, the defendant who will serve the longer of the two sentences, converted the commercial warehouse to a living space and DIY venue without a permit, and will serve nine years in prison. Additionally, 28-year-old Max Harris, who served as Ghost Ship's creative director, will get a six-year sentence. Harris reportedly collected rent and also served as a doorman on the night of the disaster.
The two men both faced 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter with their jury trial set to begin just two weeks from now, on July 16. If they were found guilty at this trial they could've faced up to 39 years in prison. However, it was revealed that they were expected to be accepting their plea deals in court this Tuesday. The plea deal(s) will also allow them to do their time in Alameda County Jail rather than a state prison, due to justice reforms adopted by the state of California in 2011.
The fire occurred on December 2, 2016, during a Golden Donna concert in which more than 70 people were in attendance. The 36 victims all died from smoke inhalation after they were unable to find a way out of the converted venue.
At a press conference that followed in June 2017, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley criticized the defendants for the building's insufficient layout. "The defendants knowingly created a fire trap with inadequate means of escape," O’Malley said at the time. "They are now facing the consequences of their actions. The paying guests at the event were faced with a nearly impossible labyrinth of the defendants’ making to get out of that building. Almena and Harris’ actions were reckless, and they created the high risk of death.”
Following the fire, Almena gave an interview on TODAY, described by Rolling Stone as bizarre, in which he stopped short of copping to criminal negligence. "I’m only here to say one thing: I’m incredibly sorry and that everything that I did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together," he said. "I’m not going to answer these questions on this level. I’d rather get on the floor and be trampled by the parents [of the victims]. I’d rather let them tear at my flesh than answer these ridiculous questions."
The civil case, which also lists the Ghost Ship's owners, the Ng family, is expected to begin in October 2019.
