In Los Angeles, 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he started the fire that grew into the deadly and destructive Palisades Fire.
Before that warrant was even in the system, Rinderknecht had two separate run-ins with police in Palm Bay, Florida — one in August and another in September.
During the first traffic stop, an officer pulled him over for driving 71 in a 45. The encounter took a turn when the officer spotted unlabeled pill bottles. “Technically it’s illegal,” the officer told him. “You’re walking around with prescription bottles without labels — with pills in them. You’re going to get yourself hemmed up.”
Rinderknecht said the pills were prescribed for him and went on to tell the officer about the struggles of his delivery job and recent move from California.
A month later, another Palm Bay officer stopped Rinderknecht for speeding.
After that stop concluded, someone captured video of Rinderknecht offering Officer Greg Moore some $50 hand lotion — insisting it contained no cannabis.
After learning of Rinderknecht’s arrest on federal charges, Officer Moore reflected on his encounter. He told Eyewitness News,
“You never know who you’re going to stop. He gave me no indication he was a suspect in an arson.”
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