Man pleads not guilty to sparking deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles
A 29-year-old man accused of igniting the deadly Palisades Fire, one of California’s most destructive wildfires, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.
Jonathan Rinderknecht appeared in a Los Angeles federal court Thursday after being extradited from Florida earlier in the day. He faces multiple charges, including arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire, carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence if convicted, News.Az reports, citing ABC News.
Prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht started a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground before reigniting nearly a week later into the Palisades Fire, which swept through Pacific Palisades and Malibu, killing 12 people and destroying more than 17,000 homes and buildings.
Rinderknecht’s attorney, Steve Haney, argued that his client is being wrongly blamed for a blaze that reignited days later due to “intervening factors,” including alleged failures by the Los Angeles Fire Department to fully extinguish the initial fire.
“He’s a frustrated young man. He doesn’t know why he’s in jail right now,” Haney said after the hearing.
The defense plans to request bail, though the judge has so far ordered that Rinderknecht remain in custody pending trial, set for December 16.
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