OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Derick Almena, the master tenant of a warehouse in the San Francisco Bay area who caught fire during a musical event, killing 36 people, was sentenced on Monday to 12 years in prison, although it is unlikely spend more time in jail.
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Already under house arrest after being released from prison last year because of concerns about the coronavirus, Almena was sentenced to serve the rest of his sentence under electronic monitoring, followed by three years of probation.
“I know that no family member will ever find that acceptable and I accept that responsibility,” said Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson, at the conclusion of an emotionally charged case that was first hijacked by a suspended jury. , then the pandemic.
Many of the relatives urged Thompson to reject a plea bargain Almena had made with prosecutors to avoid a second trial, which he considered too lenient.
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Almena, 50, pleaded guilty in January to 36 counts of manslaughter in exchange for a 12-year sentence.
ARCHIVE – On this June 5, 2017, the photo from the archive, released by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office shows Derick Almena at Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, California. Family members of the 36 people killed when a fire broke out in a San Francisco warehouse during a musical event urged a judge on Monday, March 8, 2021, to impose the toughest sentence on Derick Almena, the building’s main tenant. , or reject a court agreement he made with prosecutors to avoid a second trial. (Alameda County Sheriff’s Office via AP, Archives)
Having received credit for time spent behind bars pending trial and good behavior, he will spend the next year and a half at home with an ankle monitor. He was also ordered to pay a refund, which will be determined by the court at a later date.
“This bland and stupid sentence is extremely inappropriate for the crimes that Derick Almena committed,” said the family of the fire victim, Sarah Hoda, in a statement read to the court by teleconference. “Keeping the prosecution’s recommendation of irresponsible appeal would hurt 36 victims and their families.”
Thompson and prosecutors said they took into account the challenges of trying the case again, given the challenges of selecting jurors during a pandemic, calling witnesses to court due to the travel ban and the publicity that the first trial received.
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Prosecutors said Almena was criminally negligent when she illegally converted the industrial warehouse in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood into an artist’s residence and event space, dubbed the “Ghost Ship”, filling the building with flammable materials and cables. extension. It had no smoke detectors or sprinklers.
On December 2, 2016, hell broke out in the warehouse during an electronic music event, arresting victims on the second floor built illegally. Prosecutors said the victims were not warned and had little chance of escaping by a narrow, dilapidated staircase.
The victims’ family and friends filled the Thompson courtroom for months in 2019, becoming familiar faces for the judge, only to see a jury split over Almena’s conviction, who rented the building. At the same trial, the jury also found co-defendant Max Harris, who was the Ghost Ship’s “creative director” and rent collector, innocent.