Jonathan Renderknecht — the man accused of starting the devastating Palisades Fire — shouldn’t be on the hook for criminal charges after new testimony from firefighters, according to his attorney.
Rinderknecht was indicted last year on three federal counts of arson for allegedly starting the smaller Lachman Fire in Palisades Heights — just six days before the catastrophic Palisades Fire tore through the area. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail for 150 days.
Steve Haney, Rinderknecht’s attorney, says recently released depositions showing firefighters admitting to leaving parts of the Lachman area burning undermine the prosecution’s story.
“Prosecutors were not aware of these critical failures when they sought an indictment, but they know now,” Haney said, promising more details at a news conference on Thursday.
He criticized the criminal complaint as a “blatantly false narrative” and said the new evidence called into question “the basis of the charges.”
The explosive testimony emerged as part of a lawsuit filed against the city of Los Angeles and the state of California by thousands of victims of the Palisades fire.
In one deposition, firefighter Scott Pike described encountering hot spots on Jan. 2 — the day after the Luckman Fire — while cleaning hoses.
“I could feel the heat coming off of it,” Pike testified. “It was like burning coal…still burning. I even heard a crackle.”
The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California declined to comment, saying only: “We will see Mr. Rinderknecht in court.”