ORLANDO, Fla. — The Melbourne man accused of intentionally starting one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history was in federal court in Orlando Wednesday, one day after his arrest.
As revealed in his initial appearance Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, faces charges of malicious destruction by means of a fire of real property owned by an organization receiving federal financial assistance.
This carries a mandatory minimum five-year federal prison sentence and is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.
Federal investigators laid out the timeline of events that started on New Year’s Day and resulted in 12 deaths and the destruction of more than 6,000 buildings, essential leveling the neighborhood in what became known as the Palisades Fire.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Rinderknecht was living in the area at the time and worked as an Uber driver. He moved to Melbourne after the fire.
Essayli said Rinderknecht went to to Pacific Palisades, an area he was familiar with, on New Year’s Day after working the evening shift. Essayli said two of Rinderknecht’s Uber passengers said he appeared agitated and angry that night.
The prosecutor said the defendant exited the car near a viewpoint along the Temescal Ridge Trail in Topanga State Park, walked up a nearby trail, and took iPhone videos at a nearby hilltop and listened to a rap song whose music video including objects being lit on fire. He admitted listening to this song repeatedly in the days leading up to the fire.
Essayli said after the fire was started, Rinderknecht called 911 to report it, then started driving away but turned around after passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction to fight the fire.
He said while the fire burned, the defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and firefighters, using his iPhone to take videos of the scene.
Essayli said Rinderknecht was identified and interviewed by Jan. 24. Authorities said he lied in that interview about where he was when he first saw the fire, claiming he was near the bottom of a hiking trail. However, geolocation data for the 911 calls placed him above the fire in a clearing about 30 feet from the blaze as it rapidly grew.
Among the evidence collected, Essayli said Rinderknecht created images with ChatGPT of cities in flames.
“The homes and businesses cannot be rebuilt,” he said. “This arrest, we hope, will provide a measure of justice to all those who were impacted,” Essayli said.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper said that while they cannot share every detail of the investigation, it is still an active investigation and judicial proceedings remain.
“I can tell you this. From day one, ATF and our partners have been relentless. We made a promise to find answers and we have kept that promise,” Cooper said.
Cooper revealed that hundreds of interviews and more than 200 leads have ben pursued in the eight months since the massive fire. More than 13,000 items of evidence, including fire debris, digital data and DNA samples have been analyzed.
Cooper said they cannot discuss motive at this point, as it could interfere with the case.
Rinderknecht has a preliminary hearing in Orlando Thursday morning.
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