Palisades Fire arson suspect's lawyer says case should be dismissed after LAFD depositions

The legal team representing Jonathan Rinderknecht, the alleged arsonist who prosecutors say “maliciously” started a blaze that turned into the Palisades Fire last January, says that the case should be dismissed in light of depositions from Los Angeles firefighters last week.

While speaking with CBS LA on Tuesday, Steven Haney, the defense attorney for Rinderknecht, said that both a letter and an email were sent to federal prosecutors, asking them to release his client and drop charges after firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department testified that there were still hotspots smoldering when crews left the scene of the Lachman Fire on Jan. 1, 2025, which rekindled and turned into the devastating Palisades Fire six days later.

Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze that later became the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people in January in Los Angeles.

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Haney said that now that there’s information that the Palisades Fire was not a “holdover fire” and was instead a lack of action from LAFD personnel, the U.S. Attorney’s Office should do the right thing and drop the charges.

Rinderknecht was arrested last October for starting the Lachman Fire, which initially burned about eight acres. Investigations revealed that the embers from the fire were possibly rekindled by powerful Santa Ana winds less than a week later, leading to the Palisades Fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and buildings, killed a dozen people and torched more than 23,000 acres of land.

He was indicted on three charges for the Lachman Fire in October, and a second filing then charged him directly with the Palisades Fire. After pleading not guilty last year, Rinderknecht has remained behind bars without bail until his trial.

LAFD’s after-action report, which was released the day after Rinderknecht’s arrest, stated that the fire was “not a rekindle or due to failed suppression but the reactivation of an undetectable holdover fire under extraordinary wind conditions.”

Firefighter Scott Pike’s testimony, part of an ongoing civil case filed against the city of Los Angeles and the state of California, disputed that information. He said that ash pits were still hot when they left the scene on Jan. 1, and that at least five hotspots were still actively smoking as crews began to roll up their hoses.

“I saw something, I said something, and to my best ability, I felt like we could have done more,” Pike testified. “I felt like I kind of got blown off a little bit … and I haven’t seen anyone step up and take responsibility. None of my leaders, none of the city leaders – nobody.”

Pike said that he was not interviewed for LAFD’s after-action report.

A photo that lawyers representing Palisades Fire victims claim shows California State Parks personnel hampering firefighting efforts to put out the Lachman Fire.

CBS LA

Other LAFD firefighters testified that the land where the Lachman Fire broke out, near the Skull Rock trail in Temescal Canyon Park, is part of California State Parks and that park rangers told them they would patrol the area, but testimony from a California State Parks representative revealed that no one from the agency returned to the scene that day.

Afterwards, the agency shared a statement that said they aren’t a firefighting agency and that “the fire response is the responsibility of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.”

“As a reminder, both the Lachman and Palisades fires occurred within the local responsibility of the City of Los Angeles and LAFD responded to the fires,” their statement said.

The Palisades Fire wasn’t fully contained for more than three weeks, becoming the third-most destructive fire in California history.

Palisades Fire arson suspect’s lawyer says case should be dismissed after LAFD depositions

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