Palisades Fire suspect to remain jailed, allegedly threatened to burn down sister's Florida home
PACIFIC PALISADES, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A federal judge in Florida ordered the man charged in the deadly Palisades Fire to remain jailed Thursday after a prosecutor said he had traits of an arsonist and his family had worried about his declining mental state.
In ordering 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht to be held in detention, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathan Hill said he had concerns about the suspect's mental health and his ability to get to California for future court hearings.
Rinderknecht was arrested during a traffic stop in Florida. He's charged with destruction of property by means of fire and faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. He could face additional charges associated with the property damage and 12 lives lost in the Jan. 7 fire.
Federal officials said Rinderknecht, who lived in the Pacific Palisades and worked as an Uber driver at the time, started the small Lachman Fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year's Day. The fire smoldered undetected for a week, but heavy winds on Jan. 7 caused the underground fire to surface, creating the Palisades Fire.
The fire, which left 12 dead in the hillside neighborhoods across Pacific Palisades and Malibu, was one of two blazes that broke out on Jan. 7, killing more than 30 people in all and destroying over 17,000 homes and buildings while burning for days.
"What the defense will argue here -- that it was not reasonably foreseeable, therefore you can only hold him liable for the Jan. 1 fire and not the 7th," said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. "The biggest challenge for prosecutors in this case will be causation. I think there's plenty of evidence that Rinderknecht caused the Jan. 1 Lachman Fire, but, for that original arson fire on Jan. 1, the Jan. 7 fire wouldn't have happened. That's where the fire experts come in, and expect to see a battle of the fire experts at trial."
During the hearing in federal court in Orlando, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Lyons said Rinderknecht was a flight risk because he had family in France and spoke French. Rinderknecht reportedly told the courtroom he can't find his passport, but would like to move to Bali.
Rinderknecht, shackled and wearing a red jail uniform, listened attentively as an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recounted his family's concerns about his mental health.
ATF special agent Thomas Harrison testified that Rinderknecht moved into the home of his sister and brother-in-law in Brevard County, Florida, five months ago.
Police were called to the house twice last month. During the first incident on Sept. 19, Rinderknecht had reportedly gotten into an argument with his sister and threatened to burn the house down. In the second incident on Sept. 25, the suspect's father, visiting from France, grew concerned when he found a gun in Rinderknecht's room. The suspect allegedly said he would use it in self-defense against his brother-in-law, Harrison said. No arrest was made, and no charges were filed in either police call.
"The significance of all this fire evidence is that it shows his propensity and motive to commit the crime. You're trying to get inside the head of an arsonist, and all this evidence is going to be used against Rinderknecht at trial," Rahmani said.
The family wanted the suspect out of their home for their safety and even offered him money to pay for rent, but he refused, so they moved out instead. They have reportedly started eviction proceedings against him.
In arguing that her client should be released under strict conditions, Assistant Federal Defender Aziza Hawthorne noted that officers never asked Rinderknecht's sister if she thought his threat was credible, and there were never any allegations of physical violence.
Rinderknecht was not a flight risk, she said, and his family was supporting him during the criminal proceedings, with three siblings in the courtroom to show support.
"He is not a risk to anyone," Hawthorne said.
After the hearing, outside the courtroom, one of his sisters comforted the other as she cried. When asked by reporters if they wanted to comment on the case, Rinderknecht family members remained silent as they left the courthouse.
Rinderknecht was expected to remain in the Seminole County Jail until a hearing set for Oct. 17, when prosecutors will show the evidence they have to charge a suspect.
Meanwhile, more details were emerging about how the city of Los Angeles responded to the Palisades Fire.
According to an After-Action Review Report released on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Fire Department:
- Perceived financial constraints determined how resources were deployed during the fire
- Warning sirens could have alerted people in the fire zone
- LAFD should review its protocols for recalling off-duty firefighters
- The city should better analyze resource deployment and preposition resources
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
