No criminal charges in deadly Berkeley balcony collapse

In this Saturday, June 20, 2015 file photo, mourners cry as the caskets of cousins Olivia Burke, 21, and Ashley Donohoe, 22, are placed in hearses following services at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cotati, Calif., Saturday, June 20, 2015. The two woman were among the several people killed when a balcony snapped off the fifth floor of a Berkeley apartment building during a birthday party. less In this Saturday, June 20, 2015 file photo, mourners cry as the caskets of cousins Olivia Burke, 21, and Ashley Donohoe, 22, are placed in hearses following services at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cotati, ... more Photo: Michael Short, Associated Press Photo: Michael Short, Associated Press Image 1 of / 62 Caption Close No criminal charges in deadly Berkeley balcony collapse 1 / 62 Back to Gallery

No criminal charges will be filed in last year’s collapse of an apartment balcony in Berkeley that killed six students and injured seven others after a nine-month investigation failed to show “gross or reckless conduct” in the construction and maintenance of the apartment complex, authorities said Tuesday.

“This is not a decision that I came to lightly,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said in a statement. “It is the culmination of months of consultation with my team of attorneys. It follows extensive review of reports, both legal and factual, and numerous meetings with investigators and experts.”

The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. on June 16 at the Library Gardens apartment complex at 2020 Kittredge St. The fifth-floor balcony was filled with revelers attending a birthday celebration when it gave way, flinging people to the ground.

Killed were Ashley Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park and Irish citizens Olivia Burke, Eoghan Colligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorean Miller and Eimear Walsh, all 21. Most of the dead and injured were in the United States on J-1 visas, which allow foreign citizens to work and travel in the U.S.

“Not a day has passed since the tragedy of June 16 that I have not thought of the victims and their families,” O’Malley said. “I am keenly aware of the devastation and injuries each victim and each family suffered and continues to confront. Friends, families and entire communities both in California and in Ireland have been affected by the horror of that day.”

Pleasant Hill law firm Rains Lucia Stern released a statement expressing disappointment on behalf of the family of Donohoe.

“There is a deep desire for this case to act as a lesson for other builders and avoid a tragedy like this from happening again,” the statement read.

O’Malley said that a thorough examination and reconstruction of the balcony showed extensive dry rot damage caused by water trapped, or encapsulated, in the structure.

“There appear to be many contributory causes of this encapsulation, including the types of material that were used (none of which are prohibited by building code) and the very wet weather Berkeley experienced during the months of construction,” O’Malley said. “The responsibility for this failure likely extends to many of the parties involved in the construction or maintenance of the building.”

The Contractors State License Board launched its own probe and said on Tuesday that it is nearly complete. The board is looking at the five construction companies that helped build Library Gardens. It will decide whether the companies should be allowed to keep their licenses.

If the state board rules that the contractors’ licenses should be stripped, their cases will be handed over to the state attorney general’s office and prosecuted in the state administrative court.

Berkeley Councilman Jesse Arreguin, who advocated for changes to the city’s building code after the deadly incident, said he was encouraged by O’Malley’s findings.

“While the (district attorney)’s office did not find criminal negligence, I believe that their investigation, along with our efforts in the city of Berkeley to strengthen building codes, will help prevent such a tragedy from happening again,” Arreguin said in a statement.

Bill Hutchinson and Rachel Swan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: bhutchinson@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com