Jury Selection Begins in Palisades Fire Arson Retrial After First Jury Deadlocked 10-2 Toward Acquittal
Jury selection began on November 2 at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, California, for the retrial of the Palisades Fire arson case, with hundreds of prospective jurors summoned for questioning. The defendant, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver with dual U.S.-French citizenship, has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody.
Prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht used a grill lighter to set a brush fire, the Lachman Fire, near the Summit neighborhood of Pacific Palisades on January 1, 2025. The fire was quickly suppressed on the surface but smoldered in the roots of dense scrub for days before reigniting on January 7 under fierce Santa Ana winds and exploding into the Palisades Fire. The blaze killed 12 people, burned about 23,448 acres and destroyed about 6,500 structures, making it one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, with damage in the billions of dollars.
The first trial ended in a mistrial in June after a 10-day trial in which jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal on three arson-related charges. A superseding indictment for the retrial drops the timber-set-afire count and leaves two charges, destruction of property by means of fire and arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, with the first count now referring only to the Lachman Fire; a conviction as charged carries up to 40 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang has ruled that there be no reference to the first trial during the retrial.
Rinderknecht denies the charges. Defense attorney Steve Haney says his client was wrongly accused, arguing the New Year's Day blaze was triggered by holiday fireworks and the Palisades inferno was a separate fire, while prosecutors say surveillance video and cellphone location data show Rinderknecht was the only person near the scene when the fire began.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：洛杉矶Edward R. Roybal联邦大楼与法院外墙上的雕塑《新世界》。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The sculpture 'The New World' on the exterior of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and Courthouse in Los Angeles. By Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
