In court on Friday, Almena simply responded “guilty” to each of the three dozen charges as read by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson. He was ordered to remain under electronic monitoring before returning to court on March 8 to stand trial.
Almena’s guilty pleas on Friday were part of a deal under which he faces nine to 12 years in prison. A previous deal that was expected to result in a 6- to 9-year prison sentence was canceled in 2018 by a different judge.
According to the probable cause document, Almena “allowed and encouraged tenants to use unconventional construction materials that he collected to create his residential spaces”. These materials included “recycled dry wood, such as fence boards, tiles, window frames, wooden sculptures, tapestries, pianos, organs, wooden furniture, trailers, rugs and other ruined pieces”.
They also held musical events there, and on the night of December 2, 2016, an electronic dance party was going on when hell broke out.
Ultimately, 36 people died when they failed to escape. One of the exits from the warehouse had been blocked and the building was lacking important security features, such as fire alarms, scheduled exits and sprinklers, according to authorities.
It was one of the deadliest nightclub fires in US history.
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.