Jonathan Rinderknecht will learn soon if a federal jury has found him guilty of starting the blaze in early 2025 that became the devastating the Palisades Fire. 

After just over a day of deliberations on the arson charges after a 10-day trial, the jury has reached a verdict. When it will be read out in court is still TBA. Ex-Uber driver Rinderknecht has always insisted he is innocent of the charges and being put up as a fall guy for the failures of civic leaders and First Responders.

Looking at up to 45 years behind bars if found guilty, he was, in Department of Justice documents, “indicted on one count of Destruction of Property by Means of Fire (18 U.S.C. § 844(f)(1)); one count of Arson Affecting Property Used in Interstate Commerce (18 U.S.C. § 844(i)); and one count of Timber Set Afire (18 U.S.C. § 1855), in a case arising out of the Lachman/Palisades Fire in January 2025.”

The subject of an intense investigation by various branches of government both national and state, Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida on October 8 last year. The then 29-year-old is accused of intentionally starting a “hold over” fire the week before that eventually sparked into the Palisades Fire.

Placed at the scene by his own iPhone and failed 9-1-1 calls, Rinderknecht later that New Year’s Day morning drove away from the area as LAFD started arriving on the scene, making a gesture to assist the firefighters, the DOJ’s filing of last year asserted.

A week later the same fire, which even after LAFD has been on the scene, had likely smoldered underground, reemerged and became known as the Palisades Fire. Destroying most of the Hollywood heavy community, the Palisades Fire killed more than a dozen people and decimated over 5,400 homes.

Earlier this week, after closing arguments, defense lawyer Steve Haney entered a motion to have the case dismissed based on lack of compelling evidence by the feds. With the bevy of online postings and asking AI platforms if you could start a fire with a lite cigarette, as well as Rinderknecht’s involvement with the January 1, 2025 Lachman Fire that preceded the Palisades Fire, that dismissal effort was dismissed pretty quickly by U.S. District Court Judge Anne Hwang.

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