Ghost Ship Victims Had No Notice and No Exits, Prosecutors Repeat in Closing Arguments

Updated 6 p.m.

During closing arguments Monday in the trial of two men charged with 36 counts apiece of involuntary manslaughter in the 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, the prosecution reiterated what was said in their opening statements: that the victims had no notice, no time and no ability to exit.

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Autrey James spoke of the people going to an electronic music party on the night of Dec. 2, 2016, and what they probably would have been thinking about when the event was over.

"We're going back to loved ones, our families, our jobs,” he said. “For 36 people, that didn’t happen.”

James then slowly read aloud the names of the 36 victims who died that night, including 35 concertgoers and one tenant, as friends and relatives wept.

The prosecution has argued that master tenant Derick Almena and Max Harris, who has been described as creative director or second-in-command at the warehouse, illegally converted it into an unsafe living space without any consideration for safety.

The defense has argued the fire was started as an act of arson, and there would have been nothing that Almena or Harris could have done to prevent that. They also have argued that agencies, including personnel from Oakland's police and fire departments, had passed through the building dozens of times and had never flagged it, red-tagged it or issued eviction notices.

James said the defendants' acts “amount to a disregard for human life.”

“We’ve proven to you they were criminally negligent,” James said to the jury following nearly three months of testimony. He added the defendants had been criminally negligent from the time the lease was signed in November 2013 until the night of the fire.

He argued that the defendants violated nine elements of the fire code, including not procuring required fire safety permits.

“Was the failure to get permits criminally negligent?” James asked. “Absolutely.”

James said the defendants did not install the required fire sprinklers or alarms. He argued that when Almena began allowing people to live in the warehouse, he had to install proper safety measures.

“The City of Oakland will tell you, “You must, must put in fire sprinklers,’ " James said, referring to when people began living in the warehouse after the lease was signed in November 2013.

He pointed to testimony by Cesar Avila, a former assistant fire marshal with the City of Oakland, who said sprinklers were 95% effective.

“These laws were created because events like the one on Dec. 2 had happened before,” James said.

He also noted other violations of the fire code, including storing recreational vehicles within the premises and not getting the proper operational permits required for events like the one on the night of Dec. 2.

James described the building as not being designed to hold tenants or assemblies. He said the second floor, where the concert was being held, was the worst possible place for people to be during a fire. He said that with an unsealed floor, smoke came up through it and that the victims were “suspended in smoke.”

Earlier testimony by forensic pathologists indicated that all the victims died of smoke inhalation.

James pointed out there were no lit exit signs on the second floor and that a bottleneck was formed at the top of a narrow set of stairs at the front of the warehouse as people attempted to flee the fire.

James also pointed to the high fire loads presented under testimony by firefighters, including wood, tapestries, pianos delineating walkways and other materials “right up to the ceiling” surrounding RVs, creating an extreme hazard.

James mentioned the lease that Almena, former tenant Nico Bouchard and landlord Eva Ng signed on Nov. 10, 2013 — and the violations of it. James pointed to the purpose of leasing the building, which was to “design theatrical sets” and for community outreach, and that it was not to be used in any other way without the consent of the landlord, according to the lease.

James said that Bouchard testified that within days of signing the lease, people were moving in. Bouchard testified he tried to get out of the lease after seeing modifications to the building.

“It was obvious to him (Bouchard) it was a hazardous situation,” James said. He argued that Bouchard “understood the building was as-is.”

Almena testified earlier that he had both a verbal and email agreement with Eva Ng that people would live in the Ghost Ship.

James argued Almena knew he had to get permits for alterations to the building, because Eva Ng had told him to. Almena testified earlier that he had asked Eva Ng to get the required permits.

James also said Almena didn't take recommendations to get permits for the set of stairs at the front of the warehouse and the side fire door, ignoring cost estimates and saying he could install those better and cheaper. James called Almena a "narcissist" who only wanted to do things his way and said Harris was "no innocent bystander."

James argued that Harris acted on behalf of Almena, collecting rent, issuing eviction notices and organizing events. He reiterated Harris' use of titles like executive director and creative director in emails.

Harris testified that those titles and roles didn't actually exist. Almena also testified those titles didn't exist.

James wrapped up his arguments with a retelling of the night of the night of the fire, including playing frantic 911 calls and reading the last texts of eventual victims to loved ones, which brought many in the packed court room to tears. He read Nicole Siegrist's text she had written to her mother Carol Cidlik, who was in the court room: "I’m gonna die now.” Cidlik was also the first person to testify in the trial.

Curtis Briggs, who represents Harris, said outside of court that some of James’ closing arguments supported his client’s innocence. He said Harris had not been part of signing the lease or of any of the modifications to the building, including installing the set of stairs toward the front, or the fire door on the side of the building.

Chris Allen, brother of fire victim Amanda Kershaw, said outside court during lunch recess he felt pretty good about James’ arguments.

“I think Autrey (James) has done a really good job of defining what the jury is supposed to consider, and I think I speak for the rest of the families, these are the kinds of things that we’ve been thinking about," Allen said.

"He (James) talked about the disregard for human life, and indifference, which is such a cutting word in this case, because that's the case. And so many pieces of this is that indifference to life.”

Prior to James’ closing arguments, Alameda County Judge Trina Thompson laid out instructions for the jury.

Curtis Briggs, who represents Harris, is expected to give his closing arguments on Tuesday morning. The jury is expected to begin deliberations following closing arguments.