Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The trial of a man accused of setting one of the blazes that tore through Los Angeles last year in one of the costliest disasters in US history collapsed Friday when the jury failed to reach a verdict. Jonathan Rinderknecht had been charged with starting a blaze that eventually rekindled to become the Palisades Fire and laid waste in January 2025 to some of the most exclusive addresses on the US West Coast, including in the city of Malibu.
Firefighters believed they had extinguished the initial blaze, but now say it flared again a week later in strong winds, at the same time as another fire was racing through a different part of greater Los Angeles. A total of 31 people died in the two fires, which destroyed thousands of homes and upended life across America’s second biggest city. After a three-week trial, the jury in Los Angeles deliberated for two days before declaring itself deadlocked.
“There is nothing the court can do to assist the jury in their deliberations,” a jury note said Thursday. “Additional instructions or rereading the testimony would not help in deliberations. Unfortunately we cannot reach a unanimous verdict.” On Friday morning, US District Judge Anne Hwang declared a mistrial after learning that all but two of the 12 jurors had wanted to declare Rinderknecht not guilty.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a ride-share driver angry at capitalism and driven by a desire to burn down a wealthy enclave where he had once lived. His own lawyers argued he was a Good Samaritan who had called emergency services to report the initial fire, maintaining that the blaze had actually been sparked by fireworks. They also depicted him as a scapegoat whose prosecution was being used to cover up the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to extinguish the initial fire.
As soon as the mistrial was declared, Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said his office would try again. “The evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades Fire,” Essayli wrote on X. “We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts.” Rinderknecht, who faces multiple charges, including arson, could be jailed for up to 45 years if ultimately convicted.
© 2024 AFP
