Court Excoriates Defendants for Delaying Prosecution’s Case for the August 2023 Fire at Radius Recycling, Inc. in West Oakland
October 30, 2024
OAKLAND, CA—District Attorney Pamela Price announced that a hearing was held on October 30, 2024, in the criminal prosecution of the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel Defendants involving a two-day fire at the West Oakland facility on August 9th and 10th, 2023. Radius Recycling and two of its corporate managers were indicted by the Alameda County criminal Grand Jury in June 2024.
Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel Defendants in court for causing delays in the People’s prosecution of this case. Since the Defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date. The Court made it clear that the Defendants will not receive any more extensions on their arraignment and plea.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price gave an update on the case, and spoke out in agreement with the Court that Defendants should not get preferential treatment. DA Price and her team appreciate the Court for making it clear that future delays by Radius will not be tolerated.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD)’s public data shows that during and after the fire, the smoke plume traveled across Alameda County with high levels of PM2.5 (Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) detected around Laney College in Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, and West Oakland. PM2.5 is particularly harmful to infants and children, the elderly, and people with asthma or heart disease.
“This fire posed a great health hazard to the people of Alameda County,” said DA Pamela Price. “High short-term exposures to a toxic smoke plume has been shown to cause significant danger to human health. Additionally, in this case, Oakland firefighters battled the blaze under extremely dangerous conditions for 15 hours with assistance from a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat and a fireboat from the City of Alameda Fire Department.”
The team prosecuting the case from the DA’s Consumer Justice Bureau looks forward to resolving any future motions and having the Defendants arraigned in court on December 9, 2024.
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Contact: damedia@acgov.org
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.