Defense attorney Tony Serra called three witnesses to testify before his client, Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena, was expected to take the stand Monday afternoon.
Almena and Max Harris have each been charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the Dec. 2, 2016 Oakland warehouse blaze that killed 35 concert-goers and one tenant.
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Darold Leite, who said he had lived inside the Ghost Ship for two years before moving into a redwood sauna house in the warehouse’s side yard in 2016, testified he heard bottles breaking and four to five people in a loud argument on the night of the fire.
Leite said he saw seven to eight individuals in dark clothing who “left in a hurry” through the side door of the warehouse, and that he did not recognize them to be occupants. He said, responding to questions from Serra, that about seven to 10 minutes elapsed between the start of the argument and when he saw them flee the building.
The defense has argued the fire was started as an act of arson, and that Almena and Harris could have done nothing to prevent it.
The prosecution has argued that Almena and Harris illegally converted the warehouse into an unsafe living space and stuffed it full of flammable building materials. They also argue proper safety equipment like fire alarms, smoke detectors and sprinklers were not installed.
Outside of court, Serra said Leite’s testimony backed up the defense’s theory that Molotov cocktails were used to start the fire.
Leite also described some botched attempts by the Oakland Fire Department to respond to the Dec. 2 blaze. He said firefighters entered through the side door of the building, but said it looked like their hose “got hung up” and that it didn’t seem long enough. He said fire department ladders got hung up in wires near the warehouse.
He testified that he did not consider the Ghost Ship to be a “fire trap,” and said he recalled seeing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in the warehouse.
Under cross-examination from Alameda County District Attorney Casey Bates, Leite clarified that to his knowledge, those detectors were not in public areas of the warehouse. He said he recalled there being detectors in the rooms of Almena’s children.
Leite also said he had removed metal screens from two to three windows to make the building safer in case of fire.
Leite — who said he did work for Almena, including moving equipment and furniture during events — said he had done electrical work at the warehouse. Under questioning from Bates, Leite said he had wired a kitchen in the warehouse to a contractor’s box or ‘spider box,’ a type of portable power distribution unit.
Asked if he had ever heard of kitchens being wired to these type of electrical boxes for permanent use, Leite said no. Asked if he had obtained the proper permits to do so, he answered he did not think those types of permits were required.
Serra also called Oakland Police Officer Jonathon Low, who had testified previously, to the stand. Low testified he had been to the warehouse with other officers four times from January 2015 through September 2015, and that he had entered the warehouse on two occasions.
Serra asked if Low had ever reported to his superiors about any safety violations at the Ghost Ship, to which he answered no. But under cross-examination from Bates, Low also said he had never received any training regarding building or fire safety codes.
Body camera footage from Low in January 2015 had been shown in court previously in which Almena said no one had lived in the warehouse. Under cross-examination, Low reiterated that Almena told him no one lived in the warehouse and that artists signed contracts saying the warehouse was not a residence.
But Serra also pointed out in video from Jan. 31, 2015 featuring Almena in which Low said, “I’ve been here, they live here, they rent here and that’s a fact.”
Low also testified under questioning from Serra that he had helped someone move out of the warehouse in December 2015.
This post will be updated.
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