Free Republic

Jurors in the Ghost Ship criminal trial acquitted defendant Max Harris on Thursday and hung on defendant Derick Almena, reaching the verdicts in Alameda County Superior Court five months after the trial started and more than a month after receiving the case. Almena, 49, and Harris, 29, faced up to 39 years in prison if convicted on all charges stemming from the Dec. 2, 2016 inferno that killed three dozen people at a warehouse party in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood. Defense attorneys for Harris said he could be released from custody as early as Thursday, but Almena’s fate was less certain....

Two men will face trial on 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter in the Ghost Ship fire after an Alameda County Superior Court judge determined Thursday that there was sufficient evidence in the case. Prosecutors say Max Harris and Derick Almena created a firetrap at the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. The men, prosecutors allege, rented the space for an electronic music show on Dec. 2, 2016, that drew dozens of partygoers — 36 died in the burning building, which was not permitted for shows or residency and had no sprinklers, fire escapes or marked exits. Witnesses told...

The disastrous Ghost Ship fire has intensified long-simmering tensions between Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed and the city’s firefighters union, which for years has been lobbying behind the scenes to get her fired. At the same time, however, African American community leaders are coming to the chief’s defense, complaining that Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration may be setting her up to take the blame for the deadly fire.

Full title: Mayor of Oakland warns against ‘scapegoating’ lavishly paid city employees who failed to inspect deathtrap warehouse in 30 years. The Ghost Ship warehouse/artists’ colony fire makes for a compelling drama. And everyone knows that for a drama, you need villains, especially when a tragedy is as vivid as the horrible deaths of 36 mostly young adult creative explorers. The mainstream media found a ready made figure in Derick Almena, the man who rented the warehouse and set up the colony, whose solipsistic tweets focused on his own suffering not the fire victims. His appearance on the Today Show...