Wait continues for verdict in Ghost Ship trial

ByLaura Anthony KGO logo
Friday, August 9, 2019
Wait continues for verdict in Ghost Ship trial
The waiting continues outside an Oakland courtroom for the verdicts in the Ghost Ship criminal trial. Max Harris and Derick Almena each face a maximum of 39 years in prison on 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The waiting continues outside an Oakland courtroom for the verdicts in the Ghost Ship criminal trial. Max Harris and Derick Almena each face a maximum of 39 years in prison on 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The nine women and three men began their fifth day of deliberation this morning. Their most recent request was for an iPad so they can view a 3D re-creation of the Ghost Ship warehouse before the deadly December 2016 fire.

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Defense attorney Tyler Smith told reporters he does not view the jury's request as favoring either the defense or the prosecution.

"It's pretty neutral, we do not know what to make of it," said Smith. "Maybe it means they're going through the exhibits one by one, but we don't know. That's just what we're surmising."

TIMELINE: How the investigation into the deadly fire Ghost Ship fire unfolded

While the jury deliberates, the defendants await their decision in a jail cell on the 10th floor of the Rene' C. Davidson Courthouse.

The way Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson has set up delivery of the verdict, the soonest it could be read is Monday morning, but only if the jury reaches a decision by 4 pm on Thursday.