Prosecutors say Jonathan Rinderknecht — the man who allegedly started the horrific Pacific Palisades Fire — shouldn’t be allowed to introduce evidence and argue about the Los Angeles Fire Department’s response to the wildfires to get himself out of trouble.
Here’s the deal … prosecutors say Rinderknecht’s attorneys are trying to bring up alleged incidents of the department’s supposed ineptitude to protect their client and reframe the case around the response to the January 2025 fire to distract from his alleged role in starting it.
One example Rinderknecht is arguing is that one member of the fire department apparently wasn’t alarmed by seeing smoke. But prosecutors say brush fires commonly smolder after firefighters put them out … something they say this particular firefighter knew, and explains the lack of concern.
Prosecutors list a series of examples they say are just like this … insisting Rinderknecht’s attorneys are grasping at straws and attempting to “transform his trial into a misguided and much lengthier trial about the LAFD.”
Rinderknecht shouldn’t be allowed to present these kinds of misleading arguments, prosecutors say … and, they’re asking a judge for a ruling about it before the trial starts.
As you know … Rinderknecht was charged with arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, destruction of property by fire, and timber set afire … all serious federal crimes.
Rinderknecht allegedly set a brush fire on purpose on January 1. Authorities put it out, prosecutors say, but the blaze came back a few days later, leading to last year’s catastrophe.