Plus a speed upgrade to 400 megs, free for 2 years. And ask about even more savings with xfinity mobile. Click, call, or visit a store today. Right now on nbc bay area news, the verdict is in, and the reaction is now. One defendant not guilty, the other defendant a hung jury. So whats next in this high profile ghost ship warehouse trial. Goo good evening, thanks for being with us on this prime time edition of bay area news, im raj mathai. One man set free, the other went sent back to jail. Derek almena, and max harris, creative director, both charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. One for each person killed in the warehouse fire. A jury acquitted, three hours ago he walked out of the santa rita jail. The jury deadlocked on almena, ten of the 12 jurors thought he was guilty. You need a unanimous decision to convict. We have had multiple reporters on the story throughout the day. We start tonight with melissa colorado, you have been following this since the beginning. You were in the courtroom when the verdict was read, melissa. Reporter it was an emotional day for everybody involved in this trial, and tonight, seven women and five men can finally talk openly aboutha jury, and earlier today, the jury foreman did tell the court that, yes, there was some movement in the final hours of the deliberation process but it was not enough. Two people refused to budge, and refused to change their mind. Were in shock. Were just in shock. I mean, disbelief, total disbelief. The verdict is in, head to the courthouse in oakland now, that was the message family members who lost sons, daughters and in the ghost ship warehouse fire received this afternoon. David gregly pinned a picture gregory pinned a picture of his daughter on his hat. Reporter hes talking about justice for the 36 people who died in the 2016 warehouse fire. Prosecutors spent nearly five months trying to convince a jury that master tenants derek almena, and his number two in command, max harris turned the warehouse into a death trip. Shortly before 3 00 p. M. , the court clerk stood up in front of a packed courtroom, and read out loud, the jury finds max harris not guilty of all 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. He tried to stop me from crying, and you know, he was emotional, and we were all emotional. Family members of the victims wiped away tears and braced themselves for the next announcement. Thats when judge Trina Thompson signalled there was a deadlock, and asked the foreman directly, how many times did the jury vote on alninmena, 12 times. 10 people thought he was guilty, two people thought he was not guilty. Im pained, anguished, im frustrated, but we will win next time. Reporter the judge declared a mistrial and thanked the tired jury for the their hard work. He doesnt blame the two jurors who refused to budge. They had a tough job to do. Reporter hes directing his blame elsewhere. I feel that its because of the city has so much to do with it that they couldnt just find these two people guilty. Thats my opinion. Derek almena is still in custody and his next court date is going to be on october 4th. We can see a number of possibilities play out here, number one, the prosecution could try him again. They could also offer him a plea deal, and we know the defense team is going to try and lower his bail so he can get out. I spoke to some family members of the victims who tell me they will be back here on the isot o. Back to you. Melissa, yes, this was a stinging defeat for the prosecutors. The big question now, will that Alameda County da choose to retry derek almeda. Or strike a plea deal. This would avoid a retrial. We are going to evaluate and the facts and evidence that came out in this case. Were going to take into account discussions that any jurors may have had with our trial lawyers, and we will evaluate that and forward. A lot of issues at play. Prosecutors are expected to consult with the victims families if they are up emotionally for another trial that might not begin until next year. These are the faces of the 36 people who died in that fire, their deaths a tragic loss for their families and after enduring months of graphic and painful testimony, many of them feel that justice eluded them. Nbc bay area cheryl hurd joins us in oakland. A huge disappointment for so many of them. It was indeed. Almost three years of heart ache and five months of a trial inside this Alameda County courthouse in oakland for these victims families. We talked to many of them tonight and they say that this verdict is leaving them in shock and angry. Im sorry, im done. We dont want to talk right now. Reporter family members leaving the oakland courtroom disappointed and hurt. I dont have anything to say to you right now. Im shocked and saddened it. Reporter other family members a little more vocal. Were still kind of in shock, to be honest. Theres nothing we can do. Reporter judy and brian huffs son travis died in the ghost ship fire in december 2016. He was 36 years old when he became trapped by the fire. Were deeply, deeply disappointed. And we just hope that justice will some somehow be served. The only thing i hoped for was that none of this ever happened. Theres no i mean, i dont know. I just want my son back. Reporter Lisa Slattery is one of the victims. She supports acquittal but thought almeda. Others believe max should not have spent any time in jail. Derek is a different human being. I do find him responsible. Reporter family and friends overwhelm tonight. I overheard one mother saying to another, we lost our children and they are never coming back. Reporting live in oakland, im cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. Just after they did until the days after the fire, people stopped outside the memorial where the ghost ship sat, others brought candles, others stood silently, paying their respects to the 36 people who died there. We know why three jurors were dismissed from the panel without warning. Derek almen as attorney said the jurors were let go because one spoke to the firefighter about the case. That juror shared the information with two others. The firefighter was not a witness in that case. That firefighter told the juror if they had gone into the ghost ship warehouse, they would have been required to respect it. Thats outside information that the judge feared would taint the entire jury. Afterut harris is a free man. His lawyer said hes probably going to have a nice vegan meal not made by the santa rita jail. Robert handa is at that jail in dublin with the latest. Reporter thats right, and we did not get a chance to him as he was driven away by the Sheriffs Department from here at around 6 15 p. M. Or so. Sergeant ray kelly took him to family members, and he declined to do any interviews tonight describing him as happy but emotionally drained, which was also the mood for family and friends. Max harris left the courthouse and santa rita jail cleared of all charges in the ghost ship fire and was quick to leave the jail where he was in custody for 2 1 2 years. A supporter expressed relief. I have thought about this day so many times, that i feel like i have lived it a thousand times. I could have never predicted how it would feel to hear them just repeat not guilty, not guilty. I talked by phone with harriss aunt who had been attending the trial saying she was also relieved but not celebrating for the sake of codefendant derek almena and the victims families. My first reaction is i literally got down on my knees and thanked god. Reporter harriss attorney said his client had mixed families but harris planned to enjoy his freedom. Its going to start with a nice vegan meal thats not served by santa rita jail, and well take it from there. Reporter its important to emphasize that everyone we talked to said that their reaction of the victims families had a big impact on them. Well have more on that in our 11 00 newscast. Live in dublin, robert handa, nbc bay area news. October 4th is a pivotal day in all of this. The District Attorneys Office will evaluate the facts and evidence from the case and assess the future for almena, the prosecutors will review jurors comments with trial lawyers as well as meet with family members of the victims. Before october 4th, a lot will be decided. In addition to the potential criminal case, families continue to pursue civil litigation against the city, Building Owner and pg e. Their attorney, Mary Alexander talked about the verdict saying the families are disappointed but that shes confident that the verdicts wont hurt the upcoming civil trial. Some of the family members feel the results today are because of the failure of the city and pg e and others. The civil case goes to court in may. Were going to continue to follow the cases as they unfold. Another great resource our web site, nbcbayarea. Com, including a details time line. Up next, star player or diva, raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown not with the team today following a Heated Exchange with the general manager. Well hear from the gm. Also, the cheating scandal in oakland, what the School District plans to do after our Investigative Unit exposed the problem. Im chief meteorologist jeff ranieri, a cool 63 in livermother rig livermore rig now, thats in about 7 minutes. Its time for the biggest sale of the year on a sleep number 360 smart bed. You can adjust your comfort on both sides your sleep number setting. Can it help us fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet. But can it help keep us asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. So you can really promise better sleep. Not promise. Prove. Its the final days where all beds are on sale save 40 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus 0 interest for 24months on all beds. Ends sunday. So that early retirement we planned. Its going ok . Great. Now im spending more time with the kids. Im introducing them to crab. So, you mentioned that that money we set aside. Yeah. The kids and i want to build our own crab shack. Ahhh, youre finally building that outdoor kitchen. Yup with room for the whole gang. See how investing with a j. P. Morgan advisor can help you. Visit your local chase branch. Continues to develop in santa barbara, the ntsb still interviewing the crew members of that dive boat that caught fire. 34 people died, one body still not recovered. The federal investigators are also looking into the boats wiring and electrical system and if smoke detectors were working. There may have been gear charging. Th lot of photography, vid video, camera, cell phones that were charging on the vessel itself, so we are not ruling out any possible ignition sources. We are focused on everything. Among the next steps, removing that boat, the conception from the water. And take a look, this is new video of the feds touring a boat similar to conception. Theyre trying to get an idea of how much space or how little space was on board, the lead investigator telling the l. A. Times she was quote taken aback by the size of the emergency hatch. We have also learned the identities of three more victims, campbell from santa cruz was a Communications Specialist with so cal creek water district. She worked there for 18 years. Adrian dahoodfritz, and her husband lived in San Francisco. Dahood fritz was a diver and known for her work as a marine biologist. Check it out, this is a live look at Hurricane Dorian. Satellite image showst alg the heavy rain and leaving flooding in it wake. Lets give you a live look at myrtle beach where it is so windy, you can see the camera shaking. Dorian so powerful as the death toll in the bahamas continues to rise. Now up to 30 people dead. We get more from dan scheneman. Reporter Hurricane Dorian crawling along the coast of the carolinas. We have a long night ahead of us. Reporter the slow moving storm unleashing a powerful barrage of wind, rain, and storm surge. High tide forced a driver to abandon this suv. People need to be careful tonight, and we would rather them stay home and hunker down. Reporter while the eye of the storm is off the coast, it is still menacing the carolinas. Dorian blamed for more than 20 possible tornadoes. You could hear the roaring sound so you knew it was high wind and you could see afterwards, once it got light, the tree branchs knocked off high, and all the trees snapped off. Flooding also blamed. ,n ut i couldnt back up because it was behind me. Reporter the streets of downtown charleston on the way. A massive storm surge could leads more of the carolinas under water. Dan scheneman, nbc news. Well, on this Opening Night of the nfl season, the raiders have a mess on their hands and its not just their ugly divorce with the city of oakland. Today, star wide receiver Antonio Brown was not at Team Headquarters in alameda, reportedly, the raiders are going to suspend him. Brown and general manager mike mayock got into a Heated Exchange yesterday on the practice field. Some reports suggest that brown threatened mayock, its unknown how long the suspension would be if there is one as the raiders are still trying to figure out how to move forward. Short and sweet, Antonio Brown is not in the building today. He wont ben for you right now. Whi when i have some and it becomes appropriate, you will all get it. Thats it for today. Thats headache for the ra raiders. Brown posted this letter he received from mayock, the team fined him 50,000 for missing practices and meetings during Training Camp in napa. The oakland School District announced today it will hire an outside investigator after three teachers came forward to expose a cheating scandal involving educators at an east bay high school. Nbc bay areas ali wolf has more. Reporter the oakland unified School District is denying a cheating scandal at castlemont high school. We have found no evidence to support the allegations. Reporter that statement followed our investigative report where three teachers came forward with allegations of cheating and falsifying transcripts. They say it was an effort to boost Graduation Rates at the high school where roughly 30 of students failed to graduate between 2015 and 2018. We would set them up to fail. I would describe it as lying. Reporter the district launched an internal investigation, after several teachers had complaints, centering around online courses to make up for failed classes, the district admits to being too vague with the guidelines. We found issues with the way we administrate across the district. Reporter they told us they noticed students getting passing grade for courses they could not have possibly completed during the short time they were enrolled in the online classes, the district contends because some online courses were taught partially in person. Many teachers told us day use apex in a blended learning environment. Reporter dozens of students were emailed answers to tests before their exam. The district denied that but admitted teachers can sometimes tweak student responses to online tests. Teachers have the right and responsibility to go in and find if there is a correct answer, and adjust that answer to be incorrect, and therefore adjusting the score of a testing. Reporter the district says teachers will get more training as their own investigation continues. Given what we have learned, we have already begun the process of changing our protocols. Nbc bay area news. Lets bring in jeff ranieri. And we have almost made it to friday. It is close, and temperatures are heading right down. We have a nice weekend coming our way, once we hit saturdays forecast. Lets get you gointo the micro climate weather. We have fog on the top of the screen, otherwise you can see the city skyline very well at this hour. Currently 61 degrees, as you move into tomorrow morning, we have 50s coming back le clor look at thet, peninsula, a little bit for the north bay, clouds back tofast, sunshine returns back across the bay area. Temperatures i see right now dropping a few more degrees as we hit friday, so thats just going to make it nice and enjoyable for you down here across san jose, 80 degrees. Morgan hill, 86, concord, 87. Close toe closer to the bay. 60s from San Francisco down to halfmoon bay. I know we enjoy our sunshine at least lately but as we head into september, we definitely usually can get some rainfall, so i did want to take us out here to a wider look at the pacific and sh whats happening with the rainfall trend. Unfortunately High Pressure right now looks like its going to act like a shield, kind of keeping the rain away. Keep your eye out in the pacific, as i advance this, youll notice you get wet weather into the pacific northwest, as we head through september, but really no big chances for the bay area right now through september 14th. Your better bet would be right there throughout washington, also oregon. Lets bring you where is rainfall happening right now, with Hurricane Dorian, it is very close to wilmington, Still Holding on to 100 Miles Per Hour winds. Well put a path on this, and let you know when this finally moves out of the united states. Thats coming up in about 20 minutes. Jeff, well see you shortly. Up next on this prime time edition of nbc bay area news. Scientists trying to determine why some are getting sick at vaping. We head into the lab to get a firsthand look of the findings. My experience with usaa has been excellent. They really appreciate the military family and it really shows. With all that usaa offers we know their rates are good, we know that theyre always going to take care of us. It was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. It was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say oh we cant beat usaa were the webber family. Were the tenneys were the hayles, and were usaa members for life. Get your usaa Auto Insurance quote today. And out of respect, we will let you make the first offer. Thirty minutes. Thirty minutes . Objection overruled. On