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OAKLAND One of the two jurors who voted to acquit Ghost Ship fire defendant Derick Almena told reporters Friday in an impromptu interview she didnt think he would have knowingly put his family in harms way if he thought the warehouse was dangerous.

Along with a couple dozen artists, Almena, his wife and three children lived inside the warehouse before it was destroyed in a blaze Dec. 2, 2016 that claimed the lives of 36 people during a dance party.

He made a mistake, we all make mistakes. He has to live with this the rest of his life, and to me thats a horrible sentence, Betty Parker, aka Juror Number 5, said after a court hearing at the Rene C. Davidson courthouse.

He has to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And there was a lot of reasonable doubt as far as Im concerned, Parker said.

When asked what advice she has for the next jury during the retrial, scheduled to begin in April, she said they should take everything into account, and think with both your mind and your heart.

After her statements to reporters, Parker was seen hugging Almenas wife, Micah Allison, inside the courthouse. Allison attended Fridays hearing with a friend.

In September, a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of convicting Almena, 49, who was charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter one for each of the three dozen people who perished in the warehouse fire.

The prosecution alleged that Almena, the main leaseholder for the Ghost Ship warehouse, was criminally negligent in allowing a collective of artists to illegally inhabit the East Oakland warehouse, which he turned into a fire trap by filling it from floor to ceiling with art, pianos, RVs and other combustible items.

During Fridays court hearing, Almenas attorney, Tony Serra, made a motion requesting that jurors information be unsealed so the defense team could possibly speak with them in preparation for the retrial.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson said four jurors consented to have their information released. At least five former jurors, including Parker, attended the hearing.

Pretrial motions are set to begin on April 1 and jury selection on April 6 almost exactly a year after jurors were being selected for the first trial. A jury found former co-defendant Max Harris not guilty in September of the same charges Almena faced.

Serra said Harris may testify in the trial on behalf of Almena, although he hasnt yet committed.

Hes out there, hes free, hes enjoying life, hes an artist, hes beautiful, Serra said.

Serra indicated the owners of the warehouse, the Ng family, will also be called to testify in the new trial. Now that the statute of limitations to file criminal charges for them ran out in December, they wont be able to plead the Fifth Amendment as before to avoid testifying.

They dont have the Fifth, they cant shut up. Were going to serve them and Im going to grill them Serra said. And thats going to make all the difference in the world.

Serra said he and his team are ready to go and expect this trial to last about half as long as the first one, which stretched out over four months.

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There was a lot of reasonable doubt, Ghost Ship juror says about why she voted to acquit manslaughter defendant - East Bay Times