Second trial for Ghost Ship defendant Derick Almena delayed over COVID-19 crisis

2 INVESTIGATES: Ghost Ship’s Derick Almena sends 21-page jailhouse letter to KTVU

The man at the center of the Ghost Ship fire criminal case is defending himself from behind bars once again in a rambling 21-page letter sent to KTVU's 2 Investigates unit. Brooks Jarosz reports.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - A retrial in the deadly Ghost Ship fire for defendant Derick Almena is delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

A second trial for Almena, 49, was supposed to begin in April, but Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson pushed the start date back until July 6 as the virus continues to spread.

Defense lawyers for Alema asked the judge that he be released on bail, arguing that their client is suffering in jail and not a flight risk or danger to the community. Despite those claims, bail for Almena was denied.

His attorneys called the Thompson's ruling "a disgrace & a pre-conviction penalty."

Almena faces 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter charges for a fire at an Oakland warehouse in 2016 that killed 36 people.

The lengthy first trial for Almena and co-defendant Max Harris, the warehouse's artistic director, ended last Sept. 5 with jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of convicting Almena and acquitting Harris of all charges.

Harris was released from custody later that day but Almena remains in custody in lieu of $750,000 bail as he awaits his second trial.