Ghost Ship Sentencing: Emotional Testimony From Families

OAKLAND, CA — Family members and friends of the 36 people who died in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland in December 2016 expressed grief for their loss at the sentencing hearing today for two men who entered pleas last month for their roles in the fire.

The family members and friends also expressed outrage about the short jail terms that Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena, 48, and creative director Max Harris, 28, are getting for their no contest pleas to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire during a music party at the building at 1308 31st Ave. on Dec. 2, 2016.

The plea agreement reached on July 3 calls for Almena to serve 9 years in jail and Harris to serve 6 years. But their attorneys say that because of the credits the two men have already accumulated since being arrested in June 2017 they expect Almena to be released in three and a half years and Harris to be released in about 22 months.

Linda Regan, the mother of victim Amanda Allen Kershaw, 34, of San Francisco, said the terms mean that Almena will only serve 3 months for each of the 36 victims and Harris will only serve two months per victim.

Regan said, "I'm a church-going person and have been taught to forgive and turn the other cheek" but said she's not yet ready to forgive Almena and Harris and said their negligence was "despicable."

Almena and Harris lived at the warehouse with about 20 other people, including Almena's wife and their young children.

At a lengthy preliminary hearing late last year, prosecutors said guests and residents were endangered by the warehouse's makeshift electrical system and floor-to-ceiling load of pianos, wooden sculptures, pallets, motor
campers, rugs, benches, tree limbs and tapestries.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said when she filed charges against the two men last year that the warehouse had no city permits for residency or for the concerts and shows that were held there.

The victims, who were between the ages of 17 and 61, died of smoke inhalation.

Chris Allen, Kershaw's brother, said, "We feel betrayed and don't feel that justice is being served here."

Grace Kim, the mother of victim Ara Jo, 29, said she calculated that Jo should have lived at least another 50 years based on the average life expectancy of 79 years. Kim said she also calculated that the victims should have lived a total of another 1,800 years based on their ages and life expectancies.

Kim said Almena and Harris were "grossly negligent" and their short sentences don't reflect "the magnitude of our pain, suffering and loss."

Terry Ewing, Jo's boyfriend, said he was upset that Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson, who facilitated the plea agreement, wasn't at the sentencing hearing because he's no vacation. Judge James Cramer is substituting at the hearing, which is expected to last two days.

Ewing said, "It's morally bankrupt that you, Judge Jacobson, would grant such short sentences."

Ewing said Almena and Harris made "a very long series of choices" in failing to make the warehouse safe and alleged that their attorneys "engaged in despicable behavior" by downplaying their roles in the fire and instead shifting the blame to city and state officials who they said failed to warn Almena and Harris that the building was unsafe.

Almena and Harris are expected to speak later in the lengthy sentencing hearing.

— Bay City News; Image via Alameda County Sheriff's Office