\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the arson case against the man accused of sparking the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles after the jury said it could not agree on a verdict.Ten of the jurors were set on a not-guilty verdict, while two others were determined to convict him on charges of arson, malicious destruction by means of a fire and timber set aflame.\u201cThe court finds there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked,\u201d Judge Anne Hwang said.Prosecutors asked to try again, and the judge ordered Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, to remain in custody pending a new trial to begin on Oct. 19.Defense attorney Steve Haney said the vote count was a \u201cpretty resounding indication\u201d that his client is innocent.But assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli said they \u201cfully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts.\u201d\u201cThe evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades fire,\u201d Essayli posted.Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history.Juror No. 4, who identified herself as Syrena and wouldn’t share her last name, said she was one of the not-guilty votes.\u201cThere\u2019s just not enough proof,\u201d she said \u2014 and even if Rinderknecht did start the fire, she said he shouldn\u2019t be responsible for the entire outcome.\u201cShouldn\u2019t the firemen, shouldn\u2019t they have known?\u201d she said. \u201cPeople were up there hiking and said that they saw smoldering.\u201dProsecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up Jan. 7. The Palisades Fire ultimately killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes as it incinerated hillside neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and the city of Malibu. Rebuilding has moved slowly in the Pacific Palisades \u2014 only 17 homes have been certified for occupancy.His trial began June 8 and featured eight days of lengthy testimony from investigators, experts and witnesses from surrounding areas. Jurors deliberated for 13 hours over the course of two days before concluding that they could not produce a unanimous verdict.Digital records revealed Rinderknecht\u2019s state of mindUsing security camera footage, prosecutors established that the fire is believed to have started at the Hidden Buddha clearing, a spot in the mountainside that can be reached by a neighborhood trail.Rinderknecht, who was driving for Uber that evening, dropped off his last passenger in the same neighborhood, shortly before midnight.Rinderknecht called 911 more than a dozen times that night, and the phone\u2019s geolocation data showed he was at the clearing and walked down the trail as he reported the fire. Prosecutors said Rinderknecht admitted that he did not see or hear anyone else there.Prosecutors introduced several witnesses to establish his motive and state of mind on New Year’s Eve 2024. They brought into evidence a multitude of digital records obtained from his phone, email, Uber, OpenAI and various social media accounts. Investigators reviewed thousands of conversations between Rinderknecht and ChatGPT, which he used multiple times a week as a personal diary.\u201cWhy am I so angry all the time?\u201d he said in one exchange.He vented his anger over wealth inequalityRinderknecht lamented wealth disparity and climate change and his inability to do anything about it.Rinderknecht also made searches about Luigi Mangione, who is charged with the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and on Reddit searched \u201clets kill all the billionaires.\u201d He looked up the address of DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, including if he had children or surveillance cameras at his home.He also shared his relationship struggles, including his rejection by a woman. He contacted that same woman earlier that night to ask if she had any New Year\u2019s Eve plans. When she turned him down, he sent her angry and vile messages from another phone.When firefighters responded to the blaze, Rinderknecht followed them and took videos of the fire as they battled it. While at the fire, he also asked ChatGPT if someone would be responsible for a fire accidentally started by a cigarette.Rinderknecht screen-recorded both the 911 calls and his ChatGPT prompt, which prosecutors presented as evidence that he was trying to mislead investigators.On Jan. 6, a day before powerful Santa Ana winds rekindled smoldering roots into a conflagration, he recorded a selfie video where he stated he was having a mental breakdown.He talked with an agent for hours \u2014 words used against himProsecutors also referenced a recorded interview Rinderknecht gave the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in late January, before he was a suspect. ATF agent Matthew Beals spoke with him for roughly 8 hours, at one point driving together to the site of the fire so that Rinderknecht could physically identify his movements on the hill during the window of time when the fire started.Rinderknecht\u2019s account was in conflict with his phone\u2019s geolocation data and the timing of his 911 calls, Beals testified.Beals also said Rinderknecht became \u201cagitated\u201d when he asked about the fire\u2019s details, at one point accusing him of interrogating him as a suspect, and repeatedly voiced dismay about the state of political affairs in response to the questions.Specifically, Rinderknecht was recorded speculating that someone might hypothetically start a fire in the Palisades out of frustration about inequality, the agent said.\u201cIf people are specifically targeting this area, I\u2019m thinking it\u2019s probably because they\u2019re like, \u201cOh, do people think they can have their own little road up here in paradise and just, you know, be here with their money while we\u2019re basically being slaves for them?\u201d Rinderknecht said.Arson behavioral expert Kevin Kelm testified that all of Rinderknecht\u2019s behavior was consistent with that of a \u201crevenge, or societal revenge motivated\u201d arsonist.His defense sought to blame fireworksRinderknecht\u2019s defense focused on showing jurors that fireworks could not be ruled out, and in fact were the most likely cause of the fire.One firefighter testified they heard fireworks in the area shortly before and after midnight New Year\u2019s Eve.Haney called to the stand two Pacific Palisades residents and a security guard for the neighborhood. All three said they either saw flashes of light or heard fireworks, and two of them saw a group of teenagers running down the trail afterward.Two expert witnesses cast doubt on the federal investigation. Among other things, the scene of the Jan. 1 fire was unsecured for 13 days and could have been compromised in that time, the defense said. The experts also testified that fireworks were the most likely cause.Former LA fire investigator Ed Nordskog said he responded to dozens of fires each Fourth of July and New Year\u2019s Eve, most started by fireworks. He accused government investigators of being influenced by confirmation bias as they pursued Rinderknecht.\u201cThey\u2019re choosing to look at information in a very sinister way when they should be a little more open about it,\u201d he said.When looking through Rinderknecht\u2019s digital footprint, investigators never found any searches about arson, the best way to start a fire, or purchases of any fire-starting materials, Haney pointed out. While they found his DNA on a barbecue lighter in his car, they couldn\u2019t prove a lighter sparked the blaze \u2014 only that it began with an \u201copen flame,\u201d he said.Calling 911 more than a dozen times and staying at the scene while firefighters fought the blaze also demonstrated his innocence, Haney said.\u201cNo arsonist sets a fire and calls 911 for them to put it out … and then waits around to be arrested,\u201d Haney said.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tLOS ANGELES \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the arson case against the man accused of sparking the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles after the jury said it could not agree on a verdict.<\/p>\n
Ten of the jurors were set on a not-guilty verdict, while two others were determined to convict him on charges of arson, malicious destruction by means of a fire and timber set aflame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court finds there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked,\u201d Judge Anne Hwang said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors asked to try again, and the judge ordered Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, to remain in custody pending a new trial to begin on Oct. 19.<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Steve Haney said the vote count was a \u201cpretty resounding indication\u201d that his client is innocent.<\/p>\n
But assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli said they \u201cfully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades fire,\u201d Essayli posted.<\/p>\n