California jury acquits one of two men charged with manslaughter in 'Ghost Ship' warehouse fire, fails to reach verdict against the second
OAKLAND, Calif. - A California jury on Thursday acquitted one of two men charged with manslaughter in an Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people in 2016 and failed to reach a verdict on similar charges against the second defendant.
Both men ran a live-in artists’ colony at the warehouse, which was nicknamed the Ghost Ship and erupted in flames on Dec. 2, 2016, prosecutors have said. Attorneys for Almena and Harris in closing arguments last month said police, fire and child welfare officials visited the building before the fire and never ordered tenants out because of risks at the building, according to Northern California public radio station KQED.The blaze, which erupted during an electronic dance music party that drew scores of visitors, was the deadliest fire at a building in the United States since 100 people died in 2003 in a fire at a Rhode Island nightclub.
The verdicts mark an abrupt reversal of fortune for the two men who were close to a plea deal last year that would have sent them to prison. Alameda County Judge James Cramer rejected the agreement with prosecutors that would have resulted in a nine-year prison sentence for Almena and six years for Harris.
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