Defense attorney Curtis Briggs, who represents Max Harris in the Ghost Ship trial, wrapped up his closing arguments Tuesday, arguing there is enough reasonable doubt to find his client not guilty in the deadly 2016 Oakland warehouse fire.
Harris â who has been described as creative director or second-in-command at the warehouse â and master tenant Derick Almena each face 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of 35 concert-goers and one tenant for the Dec. 2, 2016, fire that engulfed the Ghost Ship the night of an electronic music party.
The prosecution concluded its closing arguments Monday, arguing the defendants were criminally negligent in violating nine different fire codes, including not installing safety measures like sprinklers and fire alarms and holding unpermitted events like the one on Dec 2. The prosecution on Monday also said Almena had violated the terms of the lease almost immediately by allowing people to live there.
But on Tuesday, Briggs pointed to the courtroom where the trial has been taking place since its preliminary rounds began in early April.
âThere were no fire sprinklers inside (the warehouse). There are no fire extinguishers in here. Convict Max anyway,â Briggs told the jury. âThere are no illuminated exit signs in this courtroom. There was one in the warehouse. Convict Max anyway.â
He also said that some of the fire codes that the prosecution argued were broken were actually the responsibility of the owners to implement.
Briggs argued Harris did not live in the Ghost Ship when the lease was signed, or when Almena began allowing people to live there. He also said Harris wasnât there when a side fire door was installed or a set of stairs toward the front of the warehouse was built, both without the required permits.
Briggs laid out a list of people, saying they werenât being convicted, including landlords Kai and Eva Ng, Ben Cannon, who did electrical work at the warehouse, and Jon Hrabko, who Briggs said organized the Dec. 2 event.
âThey did not ask you to convict Kai or Eva Ng,â Briggs said, addressing the jury.
âThey asked you to convict Max,â Briggs repeated after each person listed.
He pointed to a number of fire and police officials who had been to the warehouse a number of times and had never flagged the building as a hazard.
He argued that Harris had no managerial role in the warehouse and noted the testimony of at least seven individuals who said as much.
âMax cleaned toilets, swept floors, did the dishes. Convict him,â Briggs said.
The defense has argued that the cause of the blaze, which was never determined by fire investigators, was an act of arson, and that the defendants could not have done anything to prevent it.
Briggs returned to the arson theory Tuesday, saying that at least seven witnesses had testified to its possibility, including: a woman who testified she heard nine to 14 men boasting about the fire getting out of hand quickly, a former tenant who heard an argument and bottles breaking before the fire began, and testimony from a couple of others who also said they heard an argument the night of the fire.
Briggs reminded the jury of their instructions, which say that if previous testimony regarding arson raises a reasonable doubt as to the defendantsâ guilt, then they must find the defendants not guilty.
Briggs asked why no fire investigator, including staff from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, had asked about any suspicious people the night of the fire. He also asked why fire investigators hadnât swabbed the scene after the fire for accelerants.
âDonât you think you deserve that before you check the box ‘guilty?’ â Briggs asked the jury.
âThey were so sure they had the cause … electrical,â Briggs said. “They didnât test anything else.â
Earlier in the trial, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Barbara Maxwell testified that investigators didn’t test debris for the presence of accelerants because they already expected to find flammable substances such as gasoline in the recreational vehicles parked inside the warehouse and used as studios, and paint thinner belonging to artist tenants.
On Tuesday, Briggs also said at least seven witnesses testified they considered the Ghost Ship safe. But he did return to the testimony of Rodney Griffin, a former friend of Almena’s who called the warehouse a “death trap.” Briggs argued those statements were made before Harris began living at the Ghost Ship.
âI wish someone would have told Max there was a problem, because he would have done something about it,â Briggs said.
Defense attorney Tony Serra, who represents Almena, is expected to begin his closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.
This post will be updated.
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