Prosecutors said Thursday that the Central Florida man accused of igniting a deadly fire in Los Angeles could face the death penalty as a federal judge in Orlando ruled he will remain jailed ahead of trial.
For now, Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old Melbourne resident, is accused only of property destruction by means of fire for setting the Pacific Palisades blaze that killed 12 people and destroyed dozens of homes across thousands of acres of land. That crime carries up to 20 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent more than an hour Thursday morning on arguments that emphasized Rinderknecht’s precarious mental state, the evidence that connects him to the fire, and threats he allegedly made against family members. Afterward, Magistrate Judge Nathan Hill said that while there is no “clear and convincing” evidence that Rinderknecht would harm anyone, there is enough evidence to keep him in custody.
“When I look at that altogether, I find there is a preponderance of evidence that there are no conditions that will ensure your presence at future hearings,” Hill said.
Rinderknecht, shackled and dressed in a red Seminole County jail jumpsuit, was ushered into the courtroom flanked by two court officers in a courtroom packed with reporters and including his siblings. Throughout the hearing, he mainly looked down and swayed in his chair, while at times shaking his head as prosecutors made their arguments.
In court, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Lyons described Rinderknecht as a loner with “a despondent view of the world” living paycheck to paycheck as a driver for Uber and DoorDash.
“He struggled socially without many friends,” and often spent time on ChatGPT, Lyons said. According to an affidavit, while on the phone with 911 to report the fire, Rinderknecht allegedly typed into ChatGPT, “Are you at fault if a fire is lift (sic) because of your cigarettes?”
Months prior, he asked ChatGPT to come up with a dystopian image of a burning city and, in November, allegedly typed into ChatGPT that he “literally burnt the Bible that I had. It felt amazing. I felt so liberated.”
Lyons claimed Rinderknecht vacillated in his interview with investigators about whether a cigarette started the fire on New Year’s Day. Investigators tested that possibility in 500 lab trials, none of which Lyons said “led to the sustained combustion of any of the fuels” that led to the fire’s spread.
While being interviewed on Jan. 24 by investigators, they noticed that Rinderknecht’s carotid artery would “pulsate and become visible whenever they asked Rinderknecht a question about how the fire started or who started it,” an arrest affidavit says.
Around the time of the fire, he was falling out with past friends and had broken up with his girlfriend, prosecutors said. They said he unsuccessfully tried to contact the girlfriend before lighting the fire that died out, then flared a week later turned into an inferno that lasted nearly a month. He then left California for Florida by car, where he has been living for five months in Melbourne.
Lyons also presented concerns about Rinderknecht fleeing the country, citing his upbringing in France, his missing passport and a message to the ex-girlfriend, in which he allegedly wrote he was considering fleeing to Bali in Indonesia.
Rinderknecht, Lyons noted further, was visited by West Melbourne police after two incidents involving his sister and brother-in-law, who had allowed him to stay with them and their two children. On Sept. 19, he threatened to “burn the house down” after an argument with the couple. Days later, police were called again after they discovered he had an unloaded gun, which he obtained legally but allegedly threatened to use against his brother-in-law “in self-defense,” ATF Special Agent Thomas Harrison said from the witness stand.
Neither incident resulted in an arrest, and Rinderknecht was allowed to remain in the house while his sister and her family moved out. “They were concerned about his safety and wanted to know more about how to proceed forward with it,” Harrison said.
On Tuesday, Rinderknecht was taken into custody at a traffic stop after a bogus phone call by police lured him out, Harrison added. Despite tensions with his family, Rinderknecht’s brother and two sisters observed the hearing in the gallery, apparently supporting him.
Ahead of his arrest, Rinderknecht began seeing a psychiatrist and was put on medication, his public defender Aziza Hawthorne said. Though none of his relatives spoke as a witness, Hawthorne said he would be able to live in his sister’s home, where he would be monitored as he awaits trial.
“They said they will support him in any way they can, and that means financial and emotional support,” Hawthorne said.
Hawthorne argued that the evidence presented in court was circumstantial, and that the incidents highlighted by Lyons did not rise to criminal wrongdoing. She also noted his lack of a criminal record and the finances needed to flee as reasons to keep him in Central Florida.
“Sure, it may be circumstantial evidence,” Lyons rebutted, “but it’s paragraph after paragraph after paragraph of circumstantial evidence” that offers a snapshot of his behavior.
Had he been granted release, Rinderknecht would have had to arrange for transportation to and from California, where he will be tried. However, Hill said that he was concerned about Rinderknecht’s allegedly precarious mental state amid his recent altercations with his relatives.
More importantly, Hill was adamant about the severity of the charge he currently faces as well as others to come. Prosecutors told the judge that those additional charges could lead to them seeking the death penalty.
“It’s extraordinarily serious, and I agree with Ms. Lyons that they higher the severity of the offense, the greater the risk of fleeing,” Hill said. “… What I don’t want to do is release you and setting you up to fail.”
Rinderknecht’s next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17, according to court records. His siblings did not speak to reporters as they hustled away from the courthouse.
