Max Harris was back on the witness stand for day three of cross-examination at the Ghost Ship Trial in Oakland.

Wednesday’s exhibits included an email between Harris and the landlord in which he described potentially devastating consequences, concerning re-occurring power outages at the warehouse.

In an aggressive tone, the prosecutor asked, ‘you were clearly aware of the power situation.’

Harris replied, ‘yes it was problematic.’

In fact, Harris testified that the power went out twice during the week leading up to the deadly fire back on Dec. 2, 2016.

The prosecutor showed the jury what appeared to be contradictions in Harris’ testimony on the stand and that of an audio recording of his statements to ATF investigators regarding whether he changed fuses providing power to the warehouse.

The jury also saw a video recording of Max Harris telling D.A. investigators that co-defendant Derick Almena assigned spaces for people to rent.

On the stand, he seemed to say otherwise.

“I think what our attorneys are doing such a great job of doing is showing is establishing the fact that he lies constantly. He’ll lie and then they’ll put up some evidence to catch him in the lie. He is doing it over and over and over again. I think the worse thing he could have done for his own case is open his mouth. Any sympathy that the family might have had before, that’s gone now. Now that we see who he really is,” Grace Lovio, who lost her partner Jason McCarty in the fire, said.

Harris testified that he was the point of contact for the promoter who booked the warehouse.

In reference to whether or not he pointed out the exits and stairs to the promoter and the invited guests, Harris told the court “I didn’t feel the need to point them out.”

“Uh, he could have answered it better,” Curtis Briggs, attorney for Max Harris, said.

However, the defense attorney says his client is holding up well under pressure.

“Max Harris is doing an amazing job proving his innocence. He is holding up to very difficult questions. He is not afraid to be vulnerable. The prosecutor is trying to bully him into using certain terms and phrases as a desperate attempt to try to get a conviction,” Briggs said.

KRON4’s Michelle Kingston also attended the trial. Here are notes that she took: 

  • After years behind bars, defendant Max Harris took the stand on Monday, June 17, to speak his truth. 
  • His attorney, Curtis Briggs, says Harris has had a difficult life at the Santa Rita jail, having spent two years in solitary confinement on a vegan diet. Briggs says Harris ate nothing but carrots and beans. He’s been waiting for this moment, to finally be able to testify. 
  • In a suit with an orange shirt, his hair pulled back, his facial tattoos and earrings exposed, Harris described his relationship with Derick Almena, the other defendant in this case.
  • Both Harris and Almena are charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 people on Dec. 2, 2016.
  • The District Attorneys Office says Harris and Almena failed to provide fire safety measures, filling the warehouse where people lived with flammable materials, ultimately creating what some are calling a death trap.
  • Harris and Almena’s attorneys argue the fire was started by arson.
  • Harris told the court on Monday Almena was a friend, roommate and in some ways, a mentor.
  • The two men were just two of about 10-20 other people who lived inside the warehouse, where events and parties were also held on nearly a monthly basis. The number of people who lived inside fluctuated, depending on the month, according to witnesses who have testified in this trial.
  • Harris spoke confidently, calmly, and in a conversational tone when questioned by both his attorney and Prosecutor Autrey James throughout the week.
  • Harris said he lied to police one time when asked if anyone lived at the warehouse. He said he did this because he didn’t want to be the person that led to anyone being homeless. He said officers came into the warehouse at least two dozen times, even going up the stairs that other witnesses have said were not well-built. The 36 people who died in the fire were unable to get downstairs.
  • Harris says on the night of the fire, he was standing at the front door of the warehouse, stamping hands and believes he stamped about 80-90 hands.
  • About an hour and a half to two hours into standing at the front door, Harris testified that he walked down the hallway to use the bathroom and that is when he saw a glow coming from the back of the Ghost Ship. He ran toward his room to grab a fire extinguisher but quickly realized the fire was too big to fight himself. He started to scream “Fire!” and ran back to his room to grab his phone to call 911. Watching the fire progress was a “surreal, out-of-body experience,” he said.
  • When the smoke became overpowering, he got outside, using the flashlight on his phone by the front door to help guide others out.
  • Harris said it seemed as if everyone was coming down the stairs. He saw about 10 people come out after him, but “eventually, people stopped coming out,” he said.
  • During cross-examination on Tuesday, Prosecutor Autrey James kept a stern face, pacing the room when questioning Harris. Harris remained calm and well-spoken.
  • James asked Harris a lot of questions about his role in the warehouse. Harris denied having any type of role, despite having signed off on several emails as the creative director or executive director of the warehouse. Harris told the court he wrote this to sound more official and to be taken seriously when speaking to the landlord of the warehouse or to event promoters, and even to women on Tinder.
  • When KRON4 News Reporter Michelle Kingston asked Harris’ attorneys on Tuesday if any other residents of the warehouse referred to themselves as the creative or executive director, they said they did not think anyone else did, but that Almena told Harris to use the title.
  • On Wednesday, cross-examination continued with James and Harris.
  • James asked Harris how many of the people who died in the fire were his friends. Seven of the 36 victims were either acquaintances or friends with Max Harris, he testified.
  • James asked Harris why he didn’t go upstairs when the fire started, to make sure his friends got out and Harris said he didn’t want to interrupt the flow of people coming down the stairs or get in their way. He said he didn’t go upstairs because he thought everyone was getting out.
  • He says he feels responsible because it was his house, and they were his friends.
  • He says he did the best he could, and that he wishes he went back inside.
  • He said he left the building once he felt unsafe and that knowing now that 36 people died makes him feel sick to his stomach. He says it’s unfathomable, surreal and completely unbelievable.
  • With that, neither James or Harris’ attorneys had any more questions to ask.
  • Harris exited the witness stand.
  • Next, Harris’ attorneys will call two more witnesses on Thursday, June 20.
  • One of the witnesses is an Oakland firefighter who previously attended a party at the Ghost Ship warehouse. The other witness lived in a building owned by the Ng Family, the same family who rented the Ghost Ship warehouse out to Almena.
  • Once Harris’ team wraps their case, Almena’s attorney will begin calling witnesses.
  • Almena’s attorney, Tony Serra, told KRON4 News he plans to call Almena’s wife as soon as Tuesday, June 25. Almena is expected to testify as well, likely after the Fourth of July holiday break.

>>The latest on the Ghost Ship trial

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