OAKLAND — Jury selection is still set to start in April in the case against the two men accused in the fatal Ghost Ship warehouse fire, despite a leading prosecutor leaving to go into private practice.
Derick Almena and Max Harris each face 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 36 people who died in the East Oakland blaze on Dec. 2, 2016, the deadliest in the city’s history.
Both Almena and Harris are in custody at Santa Rita Jail. Bail for each has been set at $750,000.
On Friday, Deputy District Attorney Autrey James told Judge Trina Thompson that prosecutors were ready to go forward and that they aimed to wrap up presenting their evidence at the end of May.
But James also said, “It may go longer” during the brief Alameda County Superior Court session on the fifth floor of the René C. Davidson Courthouse near Lake Merritt.
Almena and Harris were present for the hearing, where both were clad in jail attire and the judge went over procedural matters as part of the process of getting ready for trial, including creating a questionnaire for potential jurors.
Other matters touched on included taking steps toward getting Harris and Almena civilian clothes, if they want them, to wear during the trial, and handling potential disruptions from the public.
The judge said people have contacted the court, asking to reserve specific seats in the gallery. She denied the requests.
“This is not an orchestrated theater,” Thompson said. “This is a courtroom.”
She also said the media will be expected to sit in the rear seats of the courtroom during the trial.
Seats will not be reserved, however, and if any are open they will be available for friends and family of Harris and Almena, as well as others interested in the case.
The hearing on Friday follows David Lim, a lead Ghost Ship prosecutor, turning in his resignation earlier this month, raising the possibility the case could get delayed.
Lim is leaving April 5 to start his own practice in San Mateo focused primarily on real estate law. He previously served on the City Council and as mayor of San Mateo.
Lim began investigating shortly after the deadly fire at the warehouse — which had been converted into an artist collective and where a concert was taking place when the blaze broke out — and along with James, built the case against Harris and Almena, the master tenant.
Both men are due back in court March 22 for hearings on motions by their defense teams.
The trial was originally set to begin last summer, but a plea deal was reached for the two defendants. However, the deal fell through after a judge rejected it following an emotional two-day sentencing hearing, restarting the trial process.
Staff writer Angela Ruggiero contributed to this report.