Published
Fri, Oct 4, 2019, 18:26
- Almena will once again be tried for 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the 2016 fire.
Derick Almena, the operator and master tenant of the Ghost Ship warehouse, will go back to trial on March 30th, 2020.
Judge Trina Thompson, of the Superior Court of Alameda County in California, set a new date for criminal proceedings against Almena following a September 5th mistrial in which a jury came to a 10-2 deadlock on convicting Almena of 36 counts of manslaughter for criminal negligence leading up to the deadly Ghost Ship fire.
Almena's second-in-command, Max Harris, was acquitted in the September decision and has been freed from jail.
Almena, meanwhile, remains in custody. His bail is set at $750,000, KQED reports.
In the previous trial, which began April 30th, attorneys for Almena and Harris argued the warehouse's owner, Chor Ng and her son and daughter, Kai and Eva Ng, as well as Oakland police and fire departments, shared the responsibility for conditions at Ghost Ship. The fire, which began late on December 2nd, 2016, killed crucial members of the Bay Area electronic scene including Nackt (Johnny Igaz), Cherushi (Chelsea Faith Dolan) and Cash Askew of Them Are Us Too.