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Posted on 06/25/2026 6:02:22 PM PDT by Red Badger
LOS ANGELES —Jurors have deadlocked in the trial for a troubled Uber driver accused of lighting a blaze in the Santa Monica Mountains that investigators say led to one of the most destructive fires in U.S. history.
Jurors told U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang on Thursday they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict. They’re expected to return the following day.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, is accused of starting a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, which prosecutors say later grew to become the deadly Palisades Fire. He is facing three counts of arson related to the destruction of federal property. “We have people on both sides who are dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion. We are at a standstill. We are unsure how to proceed,” the jury wrote in a note to the judge, which was read aloud in court.
Hwang sent a note to the jury asking if there was anything the court could do to assist its deliberations, a step below an “Allen charge” or “dynamite charge,” which involves further instruction from a judge urging the jury to come to a unanimous decision and is considered a final, high-pressure effort to force an agreement.
Shortly thereafter, the jury responded with a note reading, “There is nothing the court can do to assist the jury in deliberations. Additional instruction or a rereading of the testimony would not help in deliberations. Unfortunately we cannot reach a unanimous verdict.”
A subsequent note clarified jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three arson charges.
U.S. Attorney Mark Williams and defense counsel Steve Haney both told the judge they needed more time to research their responses before Hwang asked for an Allen charge.
The judge dismissed the jury for the day, ordering them to reconvene Friday morning at 9 a.m PST.
Jurors began deliberating Tuesday after reviewing two weeks of presented evidence and dozens of witnesses.
Prosecutors say Rinderknech on Jan. 1, 2025 ignited a brush fire, dubbed the Lachman Fire, which smoldered underground for a week until reemerging to the surface through a single shrub.
On Jan. 7, investigators say hurricane-force winds picked up the flame and propelled it through the surrounding canyons, killing 12 and razing more than 6,000 homes in the wealthy coastal enclave of Pacific Palisades.
Rinderknecht’s attorneys say prosecutors have not proven he started the Lachman Fire—let alone is responsible for the Palisades Fire that followed it six days later.
If convicted, Rinderknecht faces up to 45 years in prison.
If jurors cannot reach a verdict, Hwang will likely declare a mistrial, and the federal government will decide whether or not to retry the case.
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Will no one save this poor Democrat voter?
Forget it, Jake. It’s California.
Thar be DemRats on that jury who don’t want him to go to prison for many years, or at all.
They may be hung up on a certain point:
BRAVE AI:
The Palisades Fire restarted after an earlier blaze known as the Lachman Fire was initially suppressed. Federal investigators, including the ATF, determined that the Lachman Fire, which occurred on New Year’s Day, was intentionally set by Jonathan Rinderknecht and appeared extinguished, but its embers continued to smolder underground within root systems and dense vegetation for six days. On January 7, predicted high winds reintroduced oxygen to these hot spots, causing the dormant fire to reignite and spread above ground, becoming the catastrophic Palisades Fire.
While some fire experts expressed skepticism about a six-day reignition, the official investigation concluded that the fire was not put out completely, but rather transitioned from a surface fire to a ground fire. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as a “zombie fire,” allowed the blaze to remain undetected until extreme wind conditions triggered its resurgence, leading to widespread destruction in Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
The ONLY way to get true justice is to charge Gavin NewSCUM and Karen Bass with 12 counts of murder..they are just as guilty as this schmuck is. He caused the New Years Eve fire but Newsom and Bass made damn sure that the job was finished days later when they knew there would be high winds. They told the firefighters to stand down
There very well could be some reasonable doubt.
People died.
Yes, and the six-day delay seems a bit fantastic.................
Should of charged him with massive air pollution, LA jury would take about 1 minute to convict!
From an Oct ‘25 news article... [https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/jonathan-rinderknechts-social-media-history-182009077.html]
“At approximately 11:28 p.m., Rinderknecht used his iPhone to access YouTube to listen to the song entitled ‘Un Zder, Un The,’ by the French artist Josman. I have reviewed an English translation of the French lyrics for the song, and a theme of the song is despair and bitterness,” the federal affidavit says.
“During his interview on January 24, 2025, Rinderknecht admitted he was fluent in French; he grew up in France. Google records indicate that Rinderknecht had listened to the same song nine times in the previous four days,” the court documents say. “The music video for the song shows the main character (Josman) lighting things on fire. Google records indicate that Rinderknecht had watched the music video three times in the previous four days.”
The documents say he allegedly went to an area called the “Hidden Buddha” because “it had a short, hollowed out remnant/stump from a wooden utility pole where people sometimes placed small Buddha figurines.”
He’s accused of taking two videos from the spot with his iPhone that did not show any fire. He then used his phone to listen to the song on YouTube again, the court documents say. The glow of a fire was seen shortly thereafter, and he tried unsuccessfully to call 911, the documents say.”
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