Federal arson trial ends in mistrial after jury deadlock
A federal jury could not reach a verdict in the case against former Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht, accused of starting the 2025 Palisades wildfire, leading the judge to declare a mistrial.
A federal judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the case of Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 30-year-old former Uber driver charged with arson that led to the 2025 Palisades wildfire. After 13 days of trial and more than 13 hours of deliberation, the jurors were unable to agree on any of the three felony counts, with a final vote of 10-2 for acquittal. > "The court finds there’s a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial in this case due to a jury deadlock," Judge Anne Hwang said.
U.S. Assistant Attorney Bill Essayli announced on the social media platform X that the government intends to retry the case, stating that the evidence is strong that Rinderknecht ignited the fire on Jan. 1, 2025. > "We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts," Essayli wrote.
Defense attorney Steve Haney argued that the jury was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt and highlighted the 10-2 split as an indication of the jurors' doubts. He also contested the prosecution’s claim that a lighter was used to start the blaze, suggesting alternative explanations such as fireworks.
Prosecutors presented more than 30 witnesses who described Rinderknecht’s alleged motive and actions, including a testimony that he set a small fire that smoldered before exploding into the larger Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures. The defense called witnesses to challenge that narrative, including a resident who saw teenagers near the fire’s origin and a firefighter who reported flashes and noises resembling fireworks.
After the deadlock was reported, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Williams sought an Allen charge to encourage further deliberation, but Haney moved for a mistrial, arguing that continued pressure could be coercive. Judge Hwang declined to issue the charge and, after questioning the foreperson, concluded the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
The case will be retried before a new jury, according to the prosecution.
