Palisades arson suspect faces up to 45 years in prison

The man accused of intentionally setting the devastating Palisades fire, which killed dozens of people, has been charged with three felony counts and faces the possibility of up to 45 years in prison, authorities said.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested on Oct. 7 and charged with destruction of property by fire for starting the fire in Temescal Canyon on New Year’s Day, which became the deadliest wildfire in Los Angeles history.

On Wednesday, Rinderknecht was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with two additional felonies — one count of arson with property used in interstate commerce and one count of burning wood, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Palisades fire burned 23,400 acres — an area about 1.5 times the size of Manhattan — and leveled more than 6,800 structures.

Rinderknecht is the son of Baptist missionaries and a former Pacific Palisades resident who was living in Florida at the time of his arrest. He is scheduled to be arraigned in the coming weeks.

If convicted as charged, he faces a federal prison sentence of at least five years mandatory and up to 45 years statutory, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement determined that the Palisades fire was a continuation of a smaller fire called the Lachman fire that was extinguished by firefighters on January 1 but continued to burn in the root structure of sugar cane before reigniting on January 7 amid strong Santa Ana winds.

Prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht maliciously started the Lachman fire near Skull Rock after working as an Uber driver at midnight on New Year’s Day. Prosecutors said law enforcement used witness statements, video surveillance, cell phone data, and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns to determine that Rinderknecht was responsible for starting the fire.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essely, investigators found an AI-generated image of a burning city of people trying to escape on Rinderknecht’s iPhone.

Two Uber passengers who drove Rinderknecht on separate trips between 10:15 and 11:15 p.m. on New Year’s Eve told law enforcement that he appeared angry and agitated.

After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, he stopped near the Skull Rock trailhead and walked while listening to a French rap song from a music video showing trash on fire, prosecutors allege.

Rinderknecht’s parents live in France, where his father is a citizen, according to Sean Hurley, a pastor with Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Lima, Ohio, who has known the family for 30 years.

Rinderknecht also spent time in France, but was living in a Hollywood apartment when he allegedly started the Lachman fire. Environmental sensors first detected the fire at 12:12 a.m. on January 1.

Over the next five minutes, Rinderknecht tried to dial 911 several times but was unable to get to the bottom of the road and regain cell phone service, prosecutors said. By this time, nearby residents had already contacted the authorities.

Rinderknecht told law enforcement that he first saw the fire from the bottom of the track; However, data from his iPhone showed he was standing 30 feet from the fire as it quickly grew, prosecutors allege.

The Los Angeles Fire Department, which has been criticized for failing to deploy enough resources early in firefighting weather conditions when the Palisades fire broke out, is now facing an investigation into whether it could have done more to prevent the Lachman fire from rekindling.

Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.