Jury Chosen in Trial of Captain in Dive Boat Fire That Killed 34

LOS ANGELES — The captain of the Conception dive boat that caught fire near Santa Cruz Island on Labor Day 2019 woke up to flames and abandoned ship in violation of federal law while all 33 passengers, including two Santa Monica residents, and a crew member perished, a prosecutor told a criminal jury today — but the defense countered that Jerry Boylan did exactly as he was trained to do by the ship's owner and should not be held responsible for negligence.

"The passengers and crew depended on the captain to keep them safe," Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew W. O'Brien told the jury in downtown Los Angeles. "Their lives were in his hands."

The prosecutors said that instead of reaching for a fire hose or a fire extinguisher, Boylan "was the first person to jump overboard. He instructed his crew to jump overboard."

Meanwhile, the 34 people below deck "were waiting to be rescued — but nobody rescued them," O'Brien said in his opening statement of Boylan's trial.

Boylan, 70, of Santa Barbara, faces one federal count of misconduct or neglect by a ship officer, a charge carrying a possible sentence of up to 10 years behind bars.

Boylan is accused of "misconduct, gross negligence, and inattention to his duties" that caused the deaths, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"This was a rush to judgment," defense attorney Georgina Wakefield told the jury.

The fire is considered the worst maritime disaster in modern California history.

The prosecution told the Los Angeles federal jury that Boylan's alleged failure to organize required roving night patrols of the 75-foot vessel allowed the fire to spread unimpeded, killing victims whose ages ranged from 16 years old to victims in their 60s.

However, Wakefield said her client — who had been captain of the Conception for more than two decades — was following the training of Glen Fritzler, who owned the Conception and other dive boats and who never ordered roving patrols of his ships while passengers and crew slept.

Fritzler "kept his employees in the dark and trained his captains to do things his way," Wakefield told the jury Wednesday in her opening statement, adding that Boylan handled the ship the same way he had done "for years — the Fritzler way."

In the charge, prosecutors contend that Boylan "was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers" and made a series of errors, including failure to have a night watch or roving patrol, to conduct sufficient fire drills and crew training, and to provide firefighting instructions or directions to the crew after the fire started in the predawn hours of Sept. 2, 2019.

The indictment alleges that Boylan failed to use firefighting equipment, including a fire ax and fire extinguisher that were next to him in the wheelhouse, to fight the fire or attempt to rescue trapped passengers, failed "to perform any lifesaving or firefighting activities whatsoever at the
time of the fire, even though he was uninjured" and failed to use the boat's public address system to warn passengers and crew members about the fire.

Federal prosecutors contend Boylan was the first crew member to abandon ship "even though 33 passengers and one crew member were still alive and trapped below deck in the vessel's bunkroom and in need of assistance to escape," the indictment states.

Citing a confidential report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Los Angeles Times reported last month that the fire started in a plastic trash can on the boat's main deck and spread rapidly.

The blaze blocked exits for those sleeping below deck, the report said.

O'Brien said the dive boat was required by Coast Guard regulations to have a night patrol in case of fire or a person overboard. But Boylan "did not use a roving patrol" while passengers and crew slept, the prosecutor said.

The captain made a May Day call to the Coast Guard after seeing flames, but did not use the intercom system to communicate with the people below deck or attempt to fight the fire before jumping into the sea, O'Brien said.

One victim took 24 seconds of cellphone footage — later recovered by the FBI — showing those in the sleeping quarters as it was filling up with smoke, the prosecutor told the jury.

"The passengers didn't know it, but their captain had already jumped overboard," he said, telling the panel they would see the footage during the trial. "The crew had no idea what to do."

After Boylan called the Coast Guard, it took rescue boats about an hour to reach the disaster. By that time, the Conception "was totally engulfed in flames ... all 34 people had died," O'Brien said.

"The key issue here is the defendant's duties as captain," he said.

The defense argued that the flames quickly closed in on Boylan, but he stayed aboard until he made the May Day Call and only jumped when he was sure he would not make it out otherwise.

"Jerry did not abandon ship, he stayed and called for help," Wakefield said. "He didn't lower himself into 15 feet of fire. He jumped in the ocean, but he re-boarded."

The defense attorney claimed her client climbed back aboard the ship during the inferno but could do little to help put it out. The fire hoses on the ship were in flames, she said.

"No amount of training can help you hold a fire hose that's on fire," Wakefield said.

Among the nearly three dozen people trapped aboard the passenger boat when it sank were two Santa Monica residents, Marybeth Guiney and Charles McIlvain, diving enthusiasts who lived in the same condominium complex.

The fire that broke out while the boat was anchored in Platt's Harbor near Santa Cruz Island engulfed the ship and led to its sinking, resulting in the deaths of the 34 people who had been sleeping below deck. Boylan was among five crew members who were able to escape and jump into the water.

Boylan was originally charged in December 2020 with 34 counts of seaman's manslaughter, but after the defense objected, prosecutors refiled an indictment in July on a single count covering all the deaths.

The fire prompted criminal and safety investigations. Victims' families have also filed claims against the boat owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler and Truth Aquatics.

The company, in turn, filed a legal claim to shield it from damages under a maritime law that limits liability for vessel owners.

The families' suits allege that the 41-year-old Conception was in blatant violation of numerous Coast Guard regulations, including failing to maintain an overnight "roving" safety watch and failure to provide a safe means for storing and charging lithium-ion batteries, and that the below-deck passenger accommodations lacked emergency exits.

The trial continues Thursday.

— By City News Service, Inc.