Warnings About Ghost Ship Warehouse Conditions Fell On Deaf Ears, Ex-Tenants Say
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- The master tenant of a warehouse that went up in flames Friday, killing dozens of people, has had previous run-ins with law enforcement.
Tensions ran high among friends of Derick Ion, the charismatic, quirky, controversial leader of the so-called Ghost Ship collective.
"Nothing to say to you," a friend of ion's told KPIX 5.
In YouTube videos, Ion sometimes appeared erratic, rambling at other times.
Current and former friends says that's the essence of the man who created a cult of personality among the group of bohemian artists working and living in the ramshackle warehouse that was the scene of Friday's deadly fire.
But, court records paint a somewhat darker picture of Ion.
He was charged with receiving stolen property in 2015, but pled guilty to a misdemeanor, and sentenced to 36 months' probation in January of this year.
His partner - Micah Allison - posted on Facebook in February about the couple's efforts to regain custody of their children, including the parenting, anger management and domestic violence classes in addition to twice-weekly drug tests.
Friends say the couple's children had been removed from the home because of concerns living conditions at the Ghost Ship - the same conditions that turned Friday's fire into a deadly inferno.
"I would like to see the same thing happen to him that happened to those people, honestly. Because he deserved to be in that fire, not them. Because it was his fault," former Ghost Ship resident Shelley Mack said.
Shelley Mack says ion knew the ghost ship warehouse was dangerous. She calls it a death trap. Shelley lived there two years ago for four or five months, paying about $700 rent.
Shelley says the inside of the warehouse was a mess.
"There are all these cords and electrical cords and wires going across and if you're not careful, you will slip and fall and trip down the stairs and set something off because of the transformers, generators. They ran gas generators in there," Mack said.
Shelley says she didn't realize the warehouse was an illegal residence until after she moved in. She says she was instructed to tell visitors it was a 24-hour work space for artists, not a living space. She says it was very clear the warehouse was a fire hazard and that she and others raised the issue.
"I spoke out and nobody did anything. And now everybody's trying to say, 'if the police only knew, if the housing office only knew, if the people who attended only knew.' but, people did know. There are police records, showing that people did tell them. They just didn't do anything," Mack said.