Ghost Ship attorney calls DA 'corrupt'; defendant expected to testify in trial
OAKLAND — At least one Ghost Ship warehouse fire defendant is expected to testify in the involuntary manslaughter trial, while another attorney called the district attorney “corrupt” after a Wednesday hearing.
Curtis Briggs, one of the attorneys for defendant Max Harris, called out District Attorney Nancy O’Malley for being “fundamentally corrupt” outside the courtroom on Wednesday. Harris and co-defendant Derick Almena are each charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of 36 people in the Fruitvale warehouse fire on Dec. 2, 2016.
Attorneys for both Harris and Almena have called for the arrest and charges against 14 other individuals related to the fire, including the Ng family, which owned the warehouse building, as well as fire and other city officials.
“I think any time you use your prosecutorial power to prosecute an underdog, someone who couldn’t likely defend themself if attorneys hadn’t stepped forward on a pro bono status, and you try to blame an entire tragedy on them when it was actually the city of Oakland’s fault, when it was the owners’ fault … that’s institutional corruption in its highest form,” Briggs said.
Read more: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/01/02/ghost-ship-attorney-calls-da-corrupt-defendant-expected-to-testify-in-trial/
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