LOS ANGELES: The man accused of deliberately setting the blaze that grew into one of the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, killing 12 people and incinerating thousands of homes, pleaded not guilty on Thursday (Oct 23) to three federal arson-related charges.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is charged with “maliciously” starting a fire on Jan 1 that was quickly suppressed but continued to smoulder beneath dense vegetation near Pacific Palisades before reigniting a week later amid fierce winds.
At an arraignment on Thursday before US Magistrate Rozella Oliver in federal court in Los Angeles, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts in a grand jury indictment returned on Oct 15 – arson, destruction of property by means of fire and illegally setting timber afire.
If convicted as charged, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 45 years behind bars. Rinderknecht, who was arrested earlier this month in Florida and appeared in court in shackles and wearing white jail garb, was ordered to remain held without bond as he awaits trial.
The bearded defendant tried to insist to the judge that he wanted to “talk about” his detention, but his lawyer, Steve Haney, cut him off. A trial date of Dec 16 was set.
In seeking bail for his client, Haney had argued that his client essentially was being charged with an arson allegedly committed seven days before a much larger fire for which he is being blamed.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Haney questioned the fairness of a legal theory blaming Rinderknecht for the supposed reignition of a fire that had not been adequately extinguished.
“So why are they blaming him for whatever the fire department didn’t do?” Haney asked rhetorically, adding that the defense was not conceding prosecutors’ assertion that one fire was a continuation of another.
Haney said his client has no prior criminal record and no documented history of mental illness.
Source: CNA
