Ghost Ship master tenant expected to be sentenced, victims families ask for different deal

OAKLAND — Parents and family members of the 36 people who died in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire pleaded with the judge Monday: Reject the plea deal for defendant Derick Almena.

Almena, 50, was the master tenant of the Ghost Ship warehouse that caught fire Dec. 2, 2016, taking the lives of three dozen people. Almena pleaded guilty in January to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for 12 years in custody. But he is likely not to serve any more time in Santa Rita Jail, and instead is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence (1.5 years) on house arrest with an ankle monitor, and three years of probation.

The deal has not settled well with most of the family members who spoke during Monday’s sentencing hearing, expressing their grief over the loss of their loved ones, but also their anger in the deal reached.

“I am repulsed by this plea agreement. … You do not even comprehend the sorrow we feel,” said Keith Slocum, stepfather of victim Donna Kellogg.

Colleen Dolan, the mother of victim Chelsea Faith Dolan, was struggling to speak at first, but in her statement offered both a blessing and a curse. A blessing of the 36 “beautiful souls” to “dance among the stars.”

Then, she cursed Almena, saying she wanted to “give back their cursed nightmares” to Almena so the families “may be free of them.” Her description was so intense, she told other victims’ families to turn off their audio.

“My curse is this: May you Derick Almena take on the visions that I see each day and feel the pain of my nightmares. My hope is that in giving these visions to you I may be free. I curse you with the intense burning heat and flames that scorch all the hair from your body and that peel the skin away from your face. I curse you with the choking smoke saturating your lungs until they bubble and blister and foam oozes from your mouth and nose. I curse you with the pain in the bones and muscles that comes from clenching in fear as you face the fury of a firestorm coming to consume you,” Dolan said.

Sami Kopelman, mother of Edmond Lapine, implored the judge to reconsider the plea deal for a harsher sentence. She asked that Judge Trina Thompson also impose restrictions on Almena so that he may not profit off the Ghost Ship tragedy through TV or book deals, a concern other family members also expressed. Thompson said she would consider this during the court’s lunch break.

Emilie Grandchamps, the mother of victim Alex Ghassan, who was a father of two young girls, said she was “mortally” wounded the day she lost him.

“Do I want revenge? It depends on the day and the time,” Grandchamps said.

She asked that people be held accountable for their actions and words, including building owners, policies enforced through government and “that people that put others’ lives in safety and jeopardy are truly punished when the worst happens.”

“I often ask, why was my son given a death sentence for being in the wrong place and at the wrong time and those responsible for his and 35 others’ death are given a second chance at life? I want my son’s death not to go in vain,” she said.

During a botched plea deal in 2018, a judge rejected the initial plea deal sought between Almena and then co-defendant Max Harris, finding Almena did not show remorse. Following a four-month 2019 trial, a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of a conviction for Almena’s charges; Harris was found not guilty. Almena was supposed to face a retrial this year, until the plea deal was announced in January.

At least 15 statements were given by family members Tuesday morning, or read into the court record before noon. The sentencing hearing was conducted virtually, with victims’ families appearing before the judge online. Only Almena, his attorneys, prosecutors and other court staff were allowed in the courtroom at the Rene C. Davidson courthouse.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.