Mistrial declared in trial of man accused of starting Los Angeles Palisades Fire
The jury hearing the case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles to determine if Jonathan Rinderknecht is guilty of starting the fire said they are deadlocked.
After two days of deliberations, a federal judge as declared a mistrial in the case of a man accused of being the origin of the deadly January 2025 fires in Los Angeles.
The jury hearing the case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles to determine if Jonathan Rinderknecht is guilty of starting the fire said they are deadlocked on Thursday.
The note said that jurors on both sides were unwilling to change their opinion, and the jury was "at a standstill," unsure of how to proceed, NBC News reported.
Defense attorney Steve Haney requested what's sometimes called a "dynamite charge," which is where a judge gives specific instructions to the jury in order to force them to reach a verdict and avoid a mistrial. On Friday, Haney moved for a mistrial, while prosecutor Mark Williams argued against it.
When the jurors told U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang that it was impossible for them to come to a unanimous decision, Hwang agreed to a mistrial.
Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty in October. Prosecutors argued he intentionally and maliciously started a fire, which became known as the Lachman Fire, on Jan. 1. It smoldered for days before it spread six days later into what became the Palisades Fire.
Multiple witnesses testified, Haney noted during the trial, that the Lachman and Palisades fires were two separate fires.