'They dont have the goods': Residents criticize plans to retry Palisades fire arson case

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Set us as preferred After a jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a man accused of starting the Palisades fire, First Assistant U.S.Atty.

Bill Essayli quickly announced that his office would retry the case.Observers say the jury’s 10-2 vote in favor of acquitting Jonathan Rinderknecht was a major blow to Essayli’s office.Some went as far as to say a retrial would be a waste of time and prosecutors should walk away from the case altogether.“They don’t have the goods,” said Lisa Sweetingham, a longtime Palisades resident and journalist who attended the trial in federal court after losing her home in the fire.

“Ten jurors saw that, and a lot of people in the audience saw that.They really don’t have the evidence to bring it home.”Several defense witnesses poked holes in the prosecution’s theory that Rinderknecht deliberately started the Lachman fire on Jan.

1, 2025, which reignited on Jan.7 into the Palisades fire, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes.A Palisades resident said he saw several teens leaving the hill behind his house after the Lachman fire started, acting “boastful.” A Los Angeles firefighter testified that he saw flashes of light and heard loud noises that sounded like fireworks in the area around midnight.

A defense expert testified that the most likely cause of the blaze was fireworks.California The decision comes after the jury deadlocked, leaving unresolved questions about who is responsible for the fire that killed 12 people and caused billions of dollars in losses.On top of that, Sweetingham said, Rinderknecht called 911 more than a dozen times on Jan.

1.She felt it was a stretch to hold him accountable for the rekindling six days later, after a series of mistakes by fire commanders and others in failing to put out the earlier blaze, a sentiment echoed by a j...