Jury Selection Begins in Palisades Fire Arson Retrial: First Jury Deadlocked 10-2, Defendant Denies Charges
In Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, jury selection began on November 2 at the downtown federal courthouse in the retrial of the Palisades Fire arson case, with hundreds of prospective jurors summoned for questioning. The defendant, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, has pleaded not guilty to the two federal arson counts in a superseding indictment.
Prosecutors allege that around midnight on December 31, 2024, the defendant used a grill lighter to ignite hillside vegetation near the Summit neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. The fire was initially suppressed but smoldered in dense root systems and re-ignited a week later under Santa Ana winds, becoming the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people, burned 23,448 acres and destroyed about 6,500 structures in the Palisades and Malibu, causing billions of dollars in damage.
In the first trial earlier this year, after a 10-day trial the jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal and U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang declared a mistrial. Prosecutors then refiled with two counts, and the judge has ruled that the first trial may not be mentioned in the retrial.
(Source: MyNewsLA)
Source: MyNewsLA
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：帕利塞德大火过后被烧毁的住宅区航拍。Christopher Rosario 摄，Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Aerial view of homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire. By Christopher Rosario, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
