The jury in the trial about the origin of the devastating January 2025 fires in Los Angeles has reached a verdict.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, faced three federal charges of destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire for the January 2025 Palisades Fire.The former Uber driver pleaded not guilty in October and faces up to 45 years in prison.
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht intentionally and maliciously started a previous fire on a popular hiking trail known as Skull Rock on Jan.1, called the Lachman Fire, that smoldered for days before metastasizing into the giant Palisades Fire six days later.
“On Jan.1, 2025, Jonathan Rinderknecht started a fire on a hill in the Pacific Palisades,” prosecutor Danbee C.
Kim said in closing statements.“He was angry all the time.
He believed he was enslaved by the wealthy.He didn’t understand why the ‘rich losers’ and the ‘motherf----- at the top’ had it all.”On Monday, defense attorney Steve Haney moved to dismiss the case, stating that the government had not shown sufficient evidence to convict his client.
Multiple witnesses testified, Haney noted, that the Lachman and Palisades fires were two separate fires.U.S.District Judge Anne Hwang rejected Haney’s motion after federal prosecutor Mark Williams countered that expert testimony contradicted Rinderknecht’s defense on multiple occasions.
In his closing statements, Haney told the jury that evidence produced by the prosecution raised significant doubt about his client’s actions on the night of the fire.“This case is not about whether fire happened.
It’s about cause and integrity,” he said.“You might not like Jonathan at the end of this trial, but that doesn’t mean he’s guilty,” Haney said.“You’re not to convict a man if you don’t like him.”Using surveil...