Verdict Reached In Palisades Fire Trial; Suspect Faces 45-Years In Prison If Found Guilty

The jury charged with determining if Jonathan Rinderknecht is guilty of starting the blaze in early 2025 that became the devastating Palisades Fire can’t come up with a verdict, yet.

“The jury in the Jonathan Rinderknecht trial sent a subsequent note saying they are deadlocked,” the Justice Department tells Deadline today. “The trial continues.”

How long the trial continues now becomes the vital question. The judge has instructed the jury to return on Friday morning.

A note from the jurors read out in court this afternoon in downtown L.A. by U.S. District Court Judge Anne Hwang said “we have people on both sides that are dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion.” The note, the second of the day, went on to say: “We are at a standstill and unsure of how to proceed.”

Ex-Uber driver Rinderknecht has always insisted he is innocent of the charges and being put up as a fall guy for the failures of civic leaders and First Responders.

After just over a day of deliberations on the arson charges after a 10-day trial, the jurors indicated they had a verdict just over 90 minutes ago. The currently incarcerated Rinderknecht, his defense team, prosecutors and various local, state and federal officials were brought into court after the judge was informed there was a “unanimous verdict.”

What they finally did hear left Judge Hwang in clear angst.

While there was some confusion initially over when their decision would be read out in court, and the clocked ticked away, it is now clear the case is in serious trouble — even as it continues.

Looking at up to 45 years behind bars if found guilty, Rinderknecht was, in Department of Justice documents filed last fall, “indicted on one count of Destruction of Property by Means of Fire (18 U.S.C. § 844(f)(1)); one count of Arson Affecting Property Used in Interstate Commerce (18 U.S.C. § 844(i)); and one count of Timber Set Afire (18 U.S.C. § 1855), in a case arising out of the Lachman/Palisades Fire in January 2025.”

Today’s verdict or lack there of, will continue the frustration many feel over the wildfires, the response and the consequences. While some reconstruction has taken place in the Palisades, as well as Malibu and out of the Eaton Fire that tore through Altadena, progress has been slow and stymied by all metrics.

A major factor in the ongoing L.A. mayoral race, and the spark for the unsuccessful insurgency campaign of ex-Palisades resident and Hills alum Spencer Pratt, the fires and the fallout hang heavy over the city and the community as another sign of a metropolis that has lost its way — even more so this past week with the just extinguished cold storage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that prompted air quality and other health warnings.

The subject of an intense investigation by various branches of government both national and state, Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida on October 8 last year. The then 29-year-old is accused of intentionally starting a “hold over” fire the week before that eventually sparked into the Palisades Fire.

Placed at the scene by his own iPhone and failed 9-1-1 calls, Rinderknecht later that New Year’s Day morning drove away from the area as LAFD started arriving on the scene, making a gesture to assist the firefighters, the DOJ’s filing of last year asserted.

A week later the same fire, which even after LAFD has been on the scene, had likely smoldered underground, reemerged and became known as the Palisades Fire. Destroying most of the Hollywood heavy community, the Palisades Fire killed more than a dozen people and decimated over 5,400 homes.

Earlier this week, after closing arguments, defense lawyer Steve Haney entered a motion to have the case dismissed based on lack of compelling evidence by the feds. With the bevy of online postings and asking AI platforms if you could start a fire with a lit cigarette, as well as Rinderknecht’s involvement with the January 1, 2025 Lachman Fire that preceded the Palisades Fire, that dismissal effort was dismissed pretty quickly by Judge Hwang.

More such motions from the defense may be in the offering ASAP if this deadlocked situation continues into next week.