Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Melbourne, Florida, was indicted on additional charges Wednesday in connection to the ignition of January’s fatal Palisades Fire. File photo courtesy of Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli/UPI | License Photo
A federal grand jury has indicted Jonathan Rinderknecht, the 29-year-old man accused of causing the fatal Palisades Fire in January, on two additional felony charges.
Rinderknecht was arrested on Oct. 7 and charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced in a statement that a grand jury had indicted him on two additional counts of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and setting timber set afire.
Rinderknecht, a former resident of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles who has been in police custody since Oct. 7, is accused of being responsible for the Palisades Fire, one of the worst wildfires in California history, which killing a dozen people and burning more than 23,000 acres.
According to court documents, Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver the night of Dec. 31, 2024.
After dropping off a passenger, who later told authorities that Rinderknecht appeared agitated and angry, he drove toward Skull Rock Trailhead, parked his car, attempted to contact a friend and then used his iPhone to take videos and listened to a rap song the Justice Department said the music video for showed depictions of “things being lit on fire.
About 12 minutes after midnight, sensor indicated the Lachman Fire had begun. Federal prosecutors said that Rinderknecht repeatedly called 911 but couldn’t get through because he was out of cellphone range and when he finally connected with dispatch to report the fire he was at the bottom of the hiking trail and a nearby resident had already reported to the blaze.
Authorities said that Rinderknecht then fled the scene in his car, only to turn back. He then allegedly walked up the same trail he had walked earlier and used his iPhone at 1:02 a.m. to record the scene.
How he allegedly set the fire was not explained.
The Lachman Fire was quickly suppressed, but federal prosecutors said that it smoldered underground in root structure and dense vegetation, erupting into the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7 due to heavy winds.
The Palisades Fire was declared contained on Feb. 2, after killing 12 people and scorching 23, 448 acres. More than 6,827 structures were destroyed and an additional 1,017 were damaged.
Federal prosecutors said that Rinderknecht allegedly lied during a Jan. 24 interview with authorities by stating he was near the bottom of a hiking trail when he first saw the fire and called 911. The prosecutors alleged that geolocation data retrieved from his phone shows he was standing 30 feet from the fire, watching it grow.
If convicted, Rinderknecht faces a minimum sentence of five years behind bars and a maximum sentence of 45 years.
