Pacific Palisades fire suspect Jonathan Rinderknecht arrested

A Florida man has been arrested and charged in connection with the deadly Palisades fire.

“Today we announce the arrest of a 29-year-old man Jonathan Rendercott A criminal complaint accuses him of starting what became known as the Palisades Fire in January. Bill Al-Asiliwrote the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California via X On Wednesday, October 8th. “The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day — a fire that ultimately turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing widespread death and destruction.”

During a press conference on Wednesday, officials claimed that Rinderknecht was the one who started the Lackman Fire in the Pacific on January 1.

Although the fire was initially limited to less than eight acres and did not initially destroy any structures, investigators believe the catastrophic Santa Ana winds that swept through the area on Jan. 7 may have reignited the embers that sparked the Palisades Fire.

The Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres of land in communities in and around Los Angeles, including Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains. It was completely contained on January 31.

Twelve people were killed, According to Cal FireMore than 6,800 buildings were destroyed.

According to Al-Asili, authorities collected a variety of evidence against Renderknecht, including “an image he created on ChatGPT that depicted a burning city.”

“While we cannot undo the damage and devastation that has occurred, we hope that his arrest and the charges brought against him will bring a measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Al-Asili wrote on X.

During the press conference, authorities claimed the suspect was an Uber driver and lived in the Pacific Palisades area at the time of the fire.

After dropping off a passenger on New Year’s Eve, Rinderknecht walked onto a nearby road, taking some iPhone videos of the scene before starting a fire 12 minutes into the new year, officials alleged.

“The defendant took several attempts to call 911 to report the fire,” Al-Asili claimed in a press conference. Per CNN. He added: “He fled the scene in his car, but he turned around after the fire engines that were traveling in the opposite direction passed to fight the fire.”

Renderknecht is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. It is unclear whether he has obtained a lawyer.

In addition to destroying schools, churches, businesses, and grocery stores, the homes of many celebrities were also destroyed in the devastating Palisades fire.

Heidi Monday and Spencer Pratt, Brian Greenberg and Jimmy Chung, Melissa Rivers, Milo Ventimiglia and Ricky Lake They were just some stars who lost almost everything.

“Thank God we have our health and our children – I know that,” Montag, 39, wrote via Twitter. Instagram on January 9 after losing her possessions in the fire. “Just trying to focus on gratitude. It comes in waves.”

Pratt, 42, added: “The only positive sign I saw when our house burned was our son’s burning heart-shaped bed. A sign of how much love was in this house. So grateful for all the years and memories we spent with our family.”