06 June, 2017
Oakland, California, firefighters inspect a warehouse on December 3, 2016, where a fire during a rave party killed 9 people on December 2.
Derick Almena and Max Harris are facing multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Sources did not mention the Ngs when discussing charges.
The blaze broke out during an electronic dance party, killing those who could not escape from the dilapidated two-story warehouse.
Alameda County prosecutors announced Almena's arrest - along with Max Harris, who was reportedly a tenant at the art commune known as the Ghost Ship.
Artists lived in the warehouse and built lofts between the first and second floors, using two-by-fours and other types of wood. He is also accused of holding for-profit concerts at the warehouse, which was not licensed for entertainment.
In January, Serra issued a report that he said cast doubt on Almena's culpability for the fire and suggested that the fire originated in the warehouse next to the Ghost Ship, not the Ghost Ship itself.
Of the 36 victims who died, two were UC Berkeley students, Jenny Morris and Vanessa Plotkin; two were campus alumni, Griffin Madden and David Cline; and one was a KALX volunteer, Chelsea Dolan.
The incident remains under investigation.
"We believe these charges represent no less than a miscarriage of justice, and we are confident that this attempt to make a scapegoat out of our client will fail", they said.
The body cam footage, which was taken by police who were investigating a nearby fire, shows Almena talking to officers about the objective of his new "collective" and bragging about all the "antiques" he has inside, according to The Mercury News. "And I was lured into something that I had to constantly", Almena later added. Her daughter, Eva Ng, 36, has said the building was leased as a studio space for the art collective and was not used as residences.
"After Matt Lauer welcomed him with "good morning", Derick Almena shook his head".
"I'm only here to say one thing: that I am incredibly sorry", he told NBC's "Today".
Teresa Deloach Reed, the now-retired fire chief, had said her department was unaware what was going on at the Ghost Ship, despite the calls to police, complaints from neighbors and a fire station just blocks away.
The warehouse, known as the "Ghost Ship", was home to an artists' collective in East Oakland.
Oakland officials have repeatedly denied that fire and building officials were aware of the danger within the heavily cluttered 10,000-square-foot warehouse.
