Los Angeles Times

At Ghost Ship trial, victims' relatives face down the man they blame for the fire

OAKLAND, Calif. – Derick Almena pressed his hand against a picture of his wife and children, staring at the photo and then out toward the courtroom with a solemn gaze, visibly aware of what he had to lose.

His defense attorney, J. Tony Serra, asked Almena if he would "ever expose them to any risk?" Almena said he would not.

Colleen Dolan scoffed from the gallery, staring a hole through the 49-year-old. As far as she was concerned, Almena had no problem exposing people to risk - 36 people, specifically, including her daughter, Chelsea.

"Every time that picture goes up, he tries to leave it there for a long time so that it's imprinted on the jury's memory. He will use that as the last picture he posts up on the

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