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A judge ordered the jurors to resume Monday's trial in the trial of two men charged with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of 36 people who perished in a fire in a cluttered warehouse in San Francisco Bay.
The reinstatement order was made after the judge dismissed three jurors for an undisclosed reason on the 10th day of the proceedings.
Superior Judge Trina Thompson excused the jurors and replaced them with alternates at the Derick Almena and Max Harris trials following a three-month trial that brought the family and friends of the victims into a courtroom. height.
FAMILIES PASS WHEN THE TRIAL IS OPEN IN FIRE WAREHOUSE IN WAREHOUSE IN CALIFORNIA
Max Harris, left, and Derick Almena were indicted in the deadly fire. (Alameda County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
Thompson replaced the three women by one woman and two men, asking them to disregard all the deliberations of the past and reminding the jury that he can not talk to anyone about the case or seek information on this subject. She also imposed an order prohibiting lawyers from discussing the case with journalists.
On December 2, 2016, a fire broke out at an electronic music party in the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland. The building was overflowing with pianos, furniture, tangled electric cords and other flammable materials, but had only two issues and no smoke detectors, fire alarms or sprinklers, said prosecutors.
The fire killed 36 people, most of them on the second floor of the illegally built building. Prosecutors said the victims had not received any warning and were unlikely to escape through a narrow, crumbling staircase.
The resumption of Monday is the last failure of the prosecution in the case.
DEFENSE SUPPORTS OAKLAND WAREHOUSE OPERATOR AS FAMILY MAN
Almena and Harris were to be sentenced to nine and six years' imprisonment respectively, after pleading no manslaughter protest last year. But a judge dismissed their pleas after many of the victims' families objected, saying the proposed sentences were too lenient.
A dozen family members and friends of the victims came to court for Tuesday's announcement but declined to speak when they left.
In her final argument, Assistant District Attorney Othery James stated that the two men had not obtained a permit because they wanted to avoid inspections and that they were violating the fire code. by refusing to install security devices.
Almena, 49, was the main tenant and Harris, 29, acted as a manager collecting rent and settling family disputes, the prosecutor said.
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James told the jurors that to declare men guilty of manslaughter, they had to agree that their actions were criminal negligence. "Is the lack of license criminally negligent? Absolutely," he said.
The defendants argued that municipal employees were to blame for not raising any concerns about the fire hazard and said the fire was a arson. Since the investigators never found the cause of the fire, no arson can be ruled out.
Almena and Harris face up to 39 years in prison if they are found guilty.
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