Ghost Ship trial: 1 found not guilty; hung jury for co-defendant
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Ghost Ship trial stumbled to a wrenching, unsatisfying conclusion Thursday as jurors acquitted one man blamed for dangerous conditions in the warehouse where 36 people died in a horrific fire and deadlocked over the responsibility of another.
When the first of 36 "not guilty" verdicts for warehouse resident Max Harris were read by an Alameda County court clerk, a female family member of one victim sobbed, as three of Harris' friends shed tears of joy. Then gasps let out when Judge Trina Thompson declared a mistrial on charges against master tenant Derick Almena, who now faces the prospect of a second proceeding.
"We are eternally grateful" to the jury, Harris' attorney, Curtis Briggs, said after the verdicts were announced
