Ghost Ship defendant laughed when asked to bring building to code, witness says

OAKLAND — When Katleen Brouchard presented Ghost Ship defendant Derick Almena with documents on how to legally bring the warehouse to code in 2013, he laughed at her, she said.

Brouchard testified Tuesday in the trial against Almena and Max Harris on 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 36 people who died during the Dec. 2, 2016, fire. She is the mother of Nicholas “Nico” Brouchard, 27, who co-signed the warehouse lease with Almena in 2013, with the intention of turning it into an artist collective, or community center with art classes and spaces for artists.

The prosecution, however, alleges that it was Almena who instead violated the lease and turned it into a residential space, allowing it to be filled with many objects from floor to ceiling, as some witnesses described, that ignited quickly the night of the fire, trapping people who were there for a dance party.

Katleen Brouchard, a former paralegal and TV producer, testified that her son asked her to come to a meeting in late 2013, with him, Almena, his wife and some other friends, in order to help get the art collective started. She said she did research by going to Oakland’s city website, and printed out information on how to get proper permits, business license and even grants to get the artist collective started. She testified the building needed “a lot of help” to get it to proper standards, noting there was just one electrical outlet, one bathroom and a “rickety clinkity” set of back stairs.

She offered to make phone calls to get the process started. Deputy District Attorney Autrey James asked her what Almena said about her suggestions.

“He laughed at me,” she said.

She testified Almena said something to the effect of how that was “too conventional” and he would do things his way instead. Then he and his wife walked out of the meeting, she said.

In cross-examination by Almena’s attorney Brian Getz, Katleen Brouchard got emotional talking about her son’s relationship with Almena. She said her son called her “hysterically crying” about four to five times when he was staying with Almena, asking for her to come get him.

Then, once her son was in the car with her, Almena would be on the phone with him, convincing him to stay. She said her son was “helpless against Derick.”

“I had to watch that several times,” she said, her voice breaking.

Nico Brouchard previously testified on May 6 that he became alarmed after he left the warehouse for two days and then returned to find a 20-foot-by-20-foot hole in the upper floor, apparently to move a piano through. Fearful that he would be liable for paying the entire $4,500-a-month lease because of what he considered lease violations, he called a meeting with the collective about safety upgrades, and asked his mother to join them.

Nico Brouchard seems to have distanced himself from the warehouse after that, and testified that he returned only six times after that. He described the interior as a labyrinth.

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