Not guilty plea entered for man charged in connection with deadly Palisades Fire

The man accused of starting a fire that ultimately led to the deadly Palisades Fire in California appeared in court on Thursday. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, pleaded not guilty to federal charges in a preliminary hearing. A trial date has been set for Dec. 16.

The Uber driver was arrested and indicted earlier this month. According to court documents, law enforcement officers determined that the Palisades Fire was caused by a rekindling of the Lachman Fire, a smaller blaze which started on Jan. 1. Rinderknecht is accused of starting the Lachman Fire. Video and GPS evidence placed him at the site when the blaze started, according to court documents. During a 911 call reporting the fire, Rinderknecht allegedly typed a question on his phone asking ChatGPT if someone could be held responsible for accidentally starting a fire with cigarettes.

What maximum sentence is he facing? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rinderknecht is charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. If convicted, he faces up to 45 years in federal prison.

How much damage did the Palisades Fire cause? According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Palisades fire burned more than 23,000 acres, over 6,000 structures, and caused 12 deaths. That makes it the third most destructive fire in California’s history.

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