A lighter found in the car of the man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire will be “front and center” at his second federal trial — after it was revealed that extensive testing was conducted on the igniter prosecutors say started the blaze.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, who the government has charged with starting the devastating inferno using a green Bic barbecue lighter, appeared in a Los Angeles federal courtroom Thursday ahead of the trial set to begin on Nov. 2.
After the hourlong hearing, Rinderknecht’s attorney Steve Haney revealed details of a video experiment performed on the lighter by the prosecution nine months after his client was arrested.
“I don’t know why they didn’t test the lighter before they charged my client, but they did later,” Haney told the California Post.
The video evidence is believed to show testing of the lighter and the ignition of brush.
“The results of the testing will be front and center on video at the trial,” Haney continued, contending that it will pose a problem for prosecutors.
“The cause of the fire according to the government was a lighter, with no accelerants on a hill on January 1st, and they need to prove that,” he said.
“They didn’t prove it in the first trial, and I think that will be even a bigger challenge based on the new evidence in the second trial.” Haney stressed that the testing was done 11 months after the fire and nine months after his client was arrested.
“It’s going to be a big issue, the second-guessing to test the cause of the fire months after my client was arrested,” he added.
The lighter was discovered by investigators on January 24, 2025, in the glove compartment of Rinderknecht’s car.
During his first trial, which ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked, the lighter was shown in the background of a selfie Rinderknecht snapped in his apartment hours before he allegedly sparked the Lachlan Fire on New Year’s.
The Lachlan Fire smoldered for days and re-ignited when record Santa Ana winds hit Pacific Palisades days later, causing a massive inferno, according to prosecutors.
Rinderknecht’s highly publicized first trial ended in a hung jury, with the jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of acquittal.
After the first trial, a juror named Bryana from Lompoc told The Post she felt the government didn’t present a convincing enough case.
“It’s disappointing because of how much money and time they put into the same thing. I don’t know … but like, yeah, bullsh–t,” she said.
LA’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, was quick to declare he would retry Rinderknecht.
“The evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades fire. We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts,” he posted on X at the time.
Rinderknecht is charged with two federal counts of arson and faces a maximum of 45 years behind bars.
Haney is hoping for a full acquittal the second time around.
“There’s some very strong evidence in the second trial that will erode their theory of how that fire even started,” he said.
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