Ghost Ship owners plead the Fifth in trial over deadly warehouse fire
OAKLAND — In their first public appearance since the Ghost Ship warehouse fire killed 36 people two and a half years ago, two owners of the burned out building pleaded the Fifth in court Thursday when asked about their possible role in the notorious inferno.
The siblings, Eva and Kai Ng, each took the witness stand in a hearing to determine what evidence should be admitted during the trial of Derick Almena and Max Harris, who have been charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the Dec. 2, 2016, fire.
Almena and Harris’ attorneys have argued in numerous court motions and a preliminary hearing that their clients are scapegoats. They have blamed the warehouse’s owners for allowing people to live inside the building and the city of Oakland for ignoring signs that the warehouse was illegally occupied. Although the fire’s cause has not been officially determined, the attorneys also have suggested arson was at play.
Eva and Kai Ng were subpoenaed to testify before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson. Their mother, warehouse co-owner Chor Ng, was not subpoenaed and didn’t appear in court, but she is on the attorneys’ witness list. It’s not clear whether she will be called during the trial; attorneys cannot answer reporters’ questions about court proceedings because they are under court order not to speak publicly about the case.
Read more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/04/04/ng-family-owners-of-the-ghost-ship-warehouse-appear-in-court-for-first-time/