Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning in the federal case re-trial of a man charged with starting a fire that grew into the deadly January 2025 Palisades Fire on the Los Angeles County coast.
The first trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht earlier this year ended with a deadlocked jury. The new indictment for the second trial dropped one of three original charges and revised two others.
Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty to the revised indictment that accuses him of igniting the Lachman Fire, the first of the two fires in Pacific Palisades. Authorities said the Lachman Fire exploded into the Palisades Fire six days after it ignited when powerful Santa Ana winds swept into Southern California on Jan. 7, 2025.
The redefined counts separate the arson allegation from the Lachman Fire on Jan. 1 from the devastating Palisades Fire, which burned 23,400 acres and resulted in 12 deaths and the destruction of more than 6,800 structures.
In the first trial in June, the two fires were characterized as a single event. Jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal.
Rinderknecht has remained in federal custody with no bail.
Federal prosecutors said they believe Rinderknecht intentionally ignited the Lachman Fire around midnight on New Year’s Day 2025 along a hiking trail in the Palisades Highlands neighborhood because he was frustrated with his place in society and harbored particular anger at wealthy people.
His defense attorney argued there was insufficient evidence to show the Lachman Fire was arson at all, and far from conclusive proof that embers smoldering underground after the fire appeared to be extinguished reignited in the intense winds a week later.
