I know this was a local story, but I feel a bit rejuvenated seeing this POS finally facing justice.
OAKLAND — Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena and his second-in-command, Max Harris, were arrested Monday and charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in conjunction with the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship fire that killed three dozen people.
Alameda County prosecutors found the pair hoarded flammable materials from floor to ceiling in the warehouse, created an illegal party space, and even blocked one of only two exits from the second floor the night of the fatal fire.
“The paying guests at the event were faced with a nearly impossible labyrinth of the defendants’ making to get out of that building,” said District Attorney Nancy O’Malley at a news conference Monday. “Almena and Harris’ actions were reckless and they created the high risk of death.”
Prosecutors announced the arrests a little more than six months after the inferno but declined to speak about whether others, including warehouse landlord Chor Ng, will face criminal charges. Friends and families of victims on Monday called for Ng to be charged, blaming her for owning a building many called a “deathtrap.”
Throw the book at them. The son of one of my colleagues was killed in the fire. Horribleness.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
