Ghost Ship owners plead the Fifth in trial over deadly warehouse fire

Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA)

April 05-- Apr. 5--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.

Since the fire, Ng family members have refused to give interviews and have stayed out of the spotlight.

Their only response so far has been through court documents in a separate civil case. In those documents, as previously reported by this news organization, the Ngs alleged that master tenant Almena broke his lease by renting space to people who lived in the Fruitvale district building, which was zoned for commercial use only.

The Ngs have not been criminally charged, despite defense attorneys' contentions that they should have been.

Dressed in a dark pantsuit with a white blouse, her highlighted dark hair straight, Eva Ng invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege to not incriminate herself on the stand as attorneys took turns questioning her.

Prosecutor Autrey James asked her if she entered into a warehouse lease agreement with Nico Brouchard, who co-signed with Almena in 2013 and testified in a preliminary hearing that they wanted to turn the building into an art collective with space for artists.

"I am declining to answer based on my Fifth Amendment privilege," Eva Ng replied.

Curtis Briggs, one of Harris' attorneys, then asked if she was aware of any actions that led to the deaths of 36 people or knew that Almena's lease allowed people to live in the warehouse.

"Is it true you knew people were living in the Ghost Ship?" Briggs asked.

She invoked the Fifth Amendment to each question.

Her brother, Kai Ng, who wore a light gray suit with a white shirt and glasses, likewise pleaded the Fifth to all questions, including whether he was a warehouse property manager and had a property relationship with Almena and Harris.

Briggs also asked Kai Ng if he had paid a well-known public relations firm a "large sum of money" or used "political influence" to help ensure members of his family wouldn't be charged in the case. The Ngs' law firm hired crisis manager Sam Singer, who has a public relations/public affairs firm in San Francisco. Singer has told this news organization he was hired by the attorneys to represent the family to assist in communication on issues surrounding the tragedy.

"Sir, I decline to answer based on my Fifth Amendment privilege," he said.

Tony Serra, who is Almena's lead attorney, asked if the Ngs received a $3 million insurance payment to cover damages from the warehouse fire. He then asked the prosecution to grant them immunity so they could testify.

"We are certainly not providing that," James said.

The Ghost Ship trial continues Monday with the first panels of 80 jurors coming in to fill out a questionnaire. Opening statements are expected to take place April 30 and May 1.

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