The case against de facto Ghost Ship leaders Max Harris and Derick Almena moved forward on Wednesday as the two defendants each pleaded not guilty to 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter in Alameda County court. This development comes about four months after the two were first charged, and nearly 10 months after the tragic Ghost Ship fire which claimed 36 lives in Oakland on December 2, 2016.
At first, both Harris's and Almena's defense lawyers argued to have the case dismissed. According to CBS, Harris's attorney, Samuel Geller, said that because the charges against Harris didn't exactly spell out what he did wrong, he "doesn’t know what he’s up against," and thus, asked the charges to be dismissed. Similarly, the East Bay Times reports that Almena's attorney, Tony Serra, argued that the charges weren't specific enough to be used in a case against Almena. In both cases, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Northridge denied the motions to dismiss, leading to yesterday's official arraignment.
Currently, both Harris and Almena are being held in custody in lieu of posting $750,000 in bail. At first, the bail amount was much higher, totaling about $1.08 million. As we shared back in July, Harris's attorney fought to have that reduced. KRON 4 reported then that the judge who heard the request then was "concerned that Max Harris’ ties to Northern California aren’t deep enough to support him while he awaits trial on 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter." Essentially, the judge was worried that Harris just wouldn't be able to stick around for the hearing due to his shaky employment history, and given that he was already residing in Los Angeles when charges were filed.
The Oakland Fire Department released a 50-page "Origin and Cause" report back in June, stating that the exact cause of the fire could not be determined. The report details what firefighters experienced upon arriving at the venue, and goes on to state that all 36 victims of the Ghost Ship fire died of smoke inhalation.
As for right now, the Chronicle says that a preliminary hearing is set to begin on November 13th, wherein a judge will hear evidence and decide whether the case is substantial enough to be heard by a jury.
