A man, Jonathan Rinderknecht, facing criminal charges for allegedly starting the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles through arson has had one of the charges against him reduced. Federal prosecutors have obtained a revised indictment in this case.
According to the city news agency, in June of this year, a federal jury leaned towards a 10-2 vote in favor of finding Rinderknecht not guilty of starting the 2025 fire, known as the Lachman Fire that led to the Palisades Fire, but they failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
The prosecutors stated that the fire began with the Lachman Fire that ignited on the first day of 2025, smoldered for a week, and was fueled by the Santa Ana winds, eventually growing into the deadly Palisades Fire. Due to the jury’s inability to reach a consensus, the judge declared a mistrial, but prosecutors have indicated they will proceed with a new trial in the case.
The Palisades Fire resulted in the death of 12 individuals, scorched 23,448 acres of land, causing billions of dollars in damages, insurance claims, and devastating the affluent Pacific Palisades community with approximately 6,800 structures destroyed.
Originally facing three federal arson charges, including destruction of property by fire, arson damaging property involved in interstate commerce, and setting fire to trees, Rinderknecht’s charges were reduced to two on August 13th: destruction of property by fire, and arson damaging property involved in interstate commerce.
The new indictment now only implicates Rinderknecht in allegedly starting the Lachman Fire, no longer linking him to both the Lachman and Palisades Fires simultaneously.
Rinderknecht is scheduled to appear for a hearing on the progress of the case this week, with a tentative retrial set for October.
Following the mistrial in June, Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, remains confident that the prosecution will ultimately secure a conviction.
Essayli wrote on X platform, “Substantial evidence indicates that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for the fire that ignited on January 1, 2025, which ultimately led to the Palisades Fire. We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and secure a conviction on all charges.”
However, defense attorney Steven Haney expressed to the press outside the courthouse that his client is innocent, and a new trial is unlikely to yield a different outcome, possibly leading to another acquittal for Rinderknecht.
Pending the start of the new trial, Rinderknecht remains in federal custody.
During the 10-day trial earlier this year, the jury was presented with pertinent evidence revealing that the devastating Palisades Fire was a “holdover fire.” The Lachman Fire erupted in the early hours of January 1, 2025, swiftly extinguished by firefighters but continued smoldering beneath the dense vegetation.
On January 7, 2025, strong winds reignited the underground fire, rapidly spreading to form the Palisades Fire, causing extensive destruction in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu communities.
The prosecution relied on witness statements, surveillance footage, cellphone data, and analysis of fire progression and burning patterns to accuse Rinderknecht of intentionally starting the Lachman Fire and subsequently lying to investigators. However, most of the evidence was circumstantial.
Prosecutors informed the jury that Rinderknecht, driven by anger, loneliness, and a desire for vengeance against the wealthy, allegedly ignited the vegetation on the hillside near the Summit community in Pacific Palisades on the midnight of December 31, 2024. This fire eventually escalated into a deadly inferno six days later, decimating a significant portion of this upscale neighborhood.
Haney argued that there is no concrete evidence linking his client to the arson and highlighted that the Lachman Fire and the Palisades Fire are distinct events. He told the jury that the first fire could have been sparked by out-of-control New Year’s Eve fireworks and suggested the second fire may have been a result of arson.
Haney emphasized that Rinderknecht was indeed in the vicinity of where the Lachman Fire began, but the part-time Uber driver did nothing other than calling 911 to report the fire.
Haney maintained that the Lachman Fire “probably started before Jonathan even arrived on the scene, and no one knows exactly when it began”.