los angeles — The man’s defense lawyers Accused of provocation The deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles will hold a news conference Thursday to call for his release from prison in light of new evidence they say shows he was not responsible for the fire.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was charged in October with starting what became one of those crimes The most destructive forest fires In California history. The attack began on January 7, 2025, in the hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu, and left 12 people dead.
Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, burning deep into the root systems without detection before igniting again a week later. Rinderknecht has it He pleaded not guiltyHis lawyers say he is being used as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to completely extinguish the previous fire.
They referred to A Newly released deposition A firefighter testified that he noticed the ground still burning from the January 2 fire and alerted supervisors to the presence of hot spots. This testimony was collected as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.
A battalion commander testified that he walked the perimeter of the burn area four times throughout the day and made sure all hot spots were out.
Fire Chief Jaime Moore, who was appointed in October, said he was concerned about discrepancies in firefighter certification and commissioned an independent report on how the Jan. 1 fire was handled.
Attorney Steve Haney said that evidence was not available to the defense when Renderknecht was charged.
“This evidence not only raises questions about the fundamental fairness of my client’s continued detention, but the basis of the charges themselves,” Hani said in a statement. “This is not a case about an individual causing a fire. This is a case about government agencies failing to do their jobs.”
Haney said Rinderknecht, who was jailed for 150 days, should never have been charged and should be released immediately.