Opening statements were made today in the trial of 2 men charged with 36 counts of Involuntary Manslaughter….that stemmed from the fire that burned in the Ghost Ship Warehouse in Oakland. The prosecution says that those 3-dozen people couldn’t escape the illegally converted East Oakland warehouse “because there was no notice, no time and no exits.” Faulty electrical wiring was suspected, but the official cause of the fire was never determined. The attorney for Derick Almena and Max Harris said the 2 men were trying to help artists and other renters and visitors, and didn’t know their buildings weren’t safe.
