Jury acquits Max Harris in Ghost Ship fire case, declares mistrial for Derick Almena

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  • Almena will face trial again at a later date after the jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction on manslaughter charges.
  • Jury acquits Max Harris in Ghost Ship fire case, declares mistrial for Derick Almena image
  • The Ghost Ship fire criminal trial has ended, for now. The jury returned verdicts today in the criminal trial of Max Harris and Derick Almena, who were held responsible for those who died in 2016's Ghost Ship fire, ABC 7 reports. Harris, who was considered the creative director of the crew, was acquitted on all 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter. The jury couldn't agree on Derick Almena (the operator of the Ghost Ship warehouse), voting 10-2 for conviction on the same 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. A mistrial was declared on account of the jury deadlock, and Almena will return to court on October 4th to set a date for new proceedings. Almena will remain in custody, while Harris is expected to be released from prison this week. The two had previously pleaded no contest to all charges in the fire that killed 36 people, including dance music artists Cherushii and Nackt, during an event.
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