Jury Deadlock In Palisades Fire Trial Results In Mistrial
After two days of deliberation, a mistrial was declared when the jury couldn’t come to a unanimous verdict in the case of Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of starting the devastating Palisades fires.
NBC News reports that the jury sent a note to U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang on Thursday saying that deliberations are “at a standstill,” with both sides “unwilling to change their opinion.” Hwang initially refused to declare a mistrial and told the jurors to reconvene on Friday morning. Defense attorney Steve Haney asked for a mistrial to be declared on Friday, while federal prosecutor Mark Williams disagreed. Hwang asked the jurors on Friday morning whether it would be impossible for them to reach a unanimous verdict. After each juror responded “yes,” Hwang declared a mistrial.
Rinderknecht faces three federal charges of destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and setting timber afire. Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty in October and faces up to 45 years if he’s found guilty of the charges.
Rinderknecht is accused of starting the 2025 Palisades fire that killed 12 people and caused over $50 billion in property damage. According to ABC 7, prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht started the fire due to resentment of the rich.
From ABC 7:
Driven by revenge, anger, and loneliness, Rinderknecht ignited a small brush fire around midnight on New Year’s Eve 2025 at a remote, deserted area adjacent to the Pacific Palisades’ Summit neighborhood that ultimately exploded into the deadly conflagration that wiped out much of the upscale community, a prosecutor told jurors on Tuesday.
Firefighters initially thought they had extinguished the New Year’s Eve Lachman Fire, but instead it smoldered underground for six days in the root system of brushes and trees before bursting into view as the deadly Palisades Fire on Jan. 7, 2025, bolstered by strong Santa Ana winds, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danbee Kim said during closing arguments of Rinderknecht’s trial.
Rinderknecht “had a deeply entrenched belief that the wealthy were destroying the world,” she said, telling the panel in federal court that to the defendant’s way of thinking, “the Pacific Palisades neighborhood represented all of that.”
Prosecutors have said that video surveillance, witness accounts, and cellular geotracking placed Rinderknecht near the ignition site of the fire. They also allege that a green Bic lighter found in Rinderknecht’s car was used to start the fire.
The defense brought in Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detective Ed Nordskog as a witness, who pushed back against the idea that Rinderknecht was responsible for the fire. “There’s no data that says it’s arson,” Nordskog said. “There’s more evidence this was fireworks … In fact, I don’t believe it’s an arson at all.”
Haney argued that there was not enough forensic evidence to prove that Rinderknecht was responsible for the fire. Nordskog agreed with that assessment during his testimony, as the area of the Lachman Fire wasn’t roped off as a crime scene until weeks later. “Whatever evidence might’ve been there was buried, crushed … or floated away in water,” Nodskog said.
Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. Attorney General, said that the federal government intends to retry the case. Hwang ordered that Rinderknecht still be detained until the retrial, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 19.
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