‘Ghost ship’ fire: Derick Almena pleads guilty to the deaths of 36 people in 2016 warehouse fire

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In court Friday, Almena simply responded “guilty” to each of the three dozen counts as read by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson. He was ordered to remain under electronic surveillance before returning to court for sentencing on March 8.

Almena’s guilty pleas Friday were part of an agreement in which he is expected to serve between 9 and 12 years in prison. A previous settlement agreement that was expected to result in a sentence of 6 to 9 years in prison was rejected by another judge in 2018.

The run-down warehouse in Oakland, also known as the “Ghost Ship,” was a place Almena would rent out to artists. Prosecutors initially released allegations in 2017, saying Almena and his co-defendant had allowed more than two dozen people into the warehouse, misleading officials and the building’s owners of that fact. They also piled large amounts of combustible materials from floor to ceiling.

According to the probable cause document, “Almena allowed and encouraged tenants to use non-conventional building materials he had collected to create their living spaces.” Those materials include “recycled dry wood, such as fence boards, shingles, window frames, wood sculptures, tapestries, pianos, organs, wood furniture, RVs, rugs, and other run-down pieces.”

They also held music events there and on the night of December 2, 2016, there was an electronic dance party going on when the inferno broke out.

In the end, 36 people died when they could not escape. One of the warehouse’s exits was blocked and authorities said the building lacked important safety features such as fire alarms, marked exits and sprinklers.

It was one of the deadliest nightclub fires in US history.

CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.

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