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		</div><p>The main tenant of a San Francisco warehouse where 36 people died during a dance party in 2016 has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the incident.</p>
<p>Derick Almena, 50, pleaded guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for a 12-year sentence.</p>
<p>Already free on bail, Almena is not likely to return to jail because of the nearly three years he already spent behind bars and credit for good behaviour.</p>
<p>His sentencing was scheduled for March 8 and will determine whether he will continue to be monitored electronically at his home in rural Northern California and be subject to supervised probation.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Almena was criminally negligent when he illegally converted the industrial Oakland warehouse into a residence and event space for artists dubbed the Ghost Ship, filling the two-story building with flammable materials and extension cables.</p>
<p>It had no smoke detectors or sprinklers.</p>
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<p>The December 2 fire broke out at the warehouse during an electronic music and dance party, moving so quickly that victims were trapped on the illegally constructed second floor.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said the victims received no warning and had little chance to escape down a narrow, ramshackle staircase.</p>
<p>The case has been emotionally wrenching for family and friends of the victims, many who packed a courtroom for months in 2019, only to see a jury split on whether to convict Almena, who leased the building.</p>
<p>The jury also found co-defendant Max Harris, who was the Ghost Ship’s creative director and would collect rent, not guilty at the same trial.</p>
<p>Colleen Dolan, mother of victim Chelsea Faith Dolan, told the East Bay Times that families were not informed of the plea deal possibility before last Wednesday.</p>
<p>“My heart dropped, especially when I heard it was going to be a slap on the wrist. I want my daughter back; we want to be with our family members who died. He gets to be with his family,” she said.</p>
<p>Almena had been jailed since 2017 until he was released in May because of coronavirus concerns and after posting a 150,000 dollar bail bond.</p>
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