DUBLIN, Calif. – The man who helped book musical acts at an Oakland, California warehouse where 36 people were killed in a fire last December says prosecutors who charged him with involuntary manslaughter are making him into a scapegoat.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office says Max Harris and warehouse operator Derick Almena blocked access to an exit at the Oakland warehouse.
Harris told the East Bay Times in a jailhouse interview Thursday that he doubted that allegation.
Harris did not enter a plea Monday during his arraignment on 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter. Almena faces the same charges.
Authorities say they turned the Ghost Ship warehouse into a housing and party space and a fire hazard.
Almena's lawyers blame others including an electrical utility and the fire department.