mistrial declared – A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the arson trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht after jurors deadlocked on all felony charges, handing prosecutors a stinging setback in the case tied to the Palisades fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of
On the 13th day of a federal trial that centered on an allegation tying a single igniting device to the deadliest wildfire in Los Angeles history, the jury finally ran out of room to agree.
Friday, U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang declared a mistrial in the case against Jonathan Rinderknecht. a 30-year-old former Uber driver accused of setting what would become the destructive Palisades fire in Los Angeles. The judge said jurors were unable to reach a verdict on any of the felony charges. with a final vote of 10 to 2 for acquittal.
“The court finds there’s a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial in this case due to a jury deadlock,” Hwang said.
First Asst. U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said his office would retry the case. On the social media platform X, Essayli wrote that his office would bring the case again before a new jury. He said the evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht was responsible for igniting the fire on January 1. 2025. which eventually became the Palisades fire. and that prosecutors “fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts.”.
Defense attorney Steve Haney called the outcome a straightforward rejection of the prosecution’s theory. The jury “was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt … and it wasn’t even close,” he said. “Ten to 2 is a pretty resounding indication of what the jury felt about this case. ” Haney added. and he said “we felt that way from the very beginning.”.
The mistrial follows a breakdown that began after deliberations stretched for more than 13 hours on Thursday afternoon. Jurors initially indicated they’d reached a unanimous verdict, then sent a follow-up note saying they were at “a standstill” and “unsure how to proceed.”
Prosecutors presented more than 30 witnesses during trial. aiming to show a specific chain of events on January 1. 2025: that Rinderknecht hiked to a clearing overlooking Pacific Palisades. allegedly used a lighter. and set the Lachman fire—the initial blaze prosecutors said smoldered underground for a week before exploding into the Palisades fire. Firefighters, prosecutors told jurors, had thought they extinguished the first fire and packed their equipment out the following day.
The secondary inferno erupted on Jan. 7, 2025. Prosecutors said it killed 12 people, destroyed 6,500 structures across the Palisades and Malibu, and cost billions of dollars in damage and insurance claims.
But the defense fought the link between the alleged ignition and the wildfire that followed. Haney’s team called witnesses meant to undercut the prosecution’s account of where and how the blaze began. A Palisades resident testified that he saw several teens leaving the hill behind his house after the fire started. acting “boastful.” A Los Angeles firefighter testified that he saw flashes of light and heard loud noises that sounded like fireworks around midnight near the neighborhood closest to where the blaze sparked.
A defense expert told jurors the most likely cause of the blaze was fireworks, casting doubt on exactly where it originated.
In closing arguments Tuesday, Haney told the jury the government had not met the burden required in a criminal case. “The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the lighter ignited the fire. because that’s what they claim happened here. ” he said. “They don’t have any evidence at all that Jonathan started a fire on that hill with a lighter.”.
The path to Friday’s decision sharpened as the jury’s deadlock became impossible to paper over. After the jurors appeared stuck Thursday afternoon, Asst. U.S. Atty. Mark Williams asked the judge Friday morning to give an Allen charge—an instruction often used to encourage a jury to keep deliberating. Haney moved for a mistrial. arguing that “forcing continued deliberations through some instructive method … it has the potential to be coercive.”.
Hwang agreed with the defense about the Allen charge, saying she would not issue it. But she declined to declare a mistrial at that moment without further inquiry with the jury.
Williams argued that the jury had not deliberated for an inordinate amount of time given the length of the trial. “There’s no indication at this point that they cannot deliberate and continue to discuss the issues,” he said.
Hwang disagreed, citing both the duration and the certainty shown in the jurors’ notes. She said jurors had deliberated for 13 hours over the course of two days, and that their notes were “unequivocal and clear.”
“The foreperson stated that people are ‘Dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion,’” Hwang said.
After 9 a.m., the judge questioned the foreperson and other jurors. During the inquiry, one juror was crying. Hwang asked whether it was the considered opinion of the jury “that the jury is unable to agree on a verdict on any of the three counts.” The foreperson answered “Yes.”
Hwang then asked, “Is there anything at all that the court can do to assist the jury in its deliberations?” The foreperson responded, “No.”
Finally, Hwang asked whether there was a reasonable probability that the jury could reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three counts if sent back to the jury room for further deliberations. The foreperson said “No.”
The mistrial means the case will reset for prosecutors: Rinderknecht. already accused of destruction of property by means of fire. arson affecting property used in interstate commerce. and timber set afire. will face another attempt at prosecution before a new jury. For families who lived through Jan. 7, 2025—when the deadly blaze surged after a weeklong underground smolder—the verdict delay offers no closure. But for the federal courtroom. Friday’s 10-to-2 vote closed the chapter on this jury and reopened the fight in the next one.
Palisades fire mistrial Jonathan Rinderknecht Anne Hwang arson trial Uber driver Bill Essayli Steve Haney