“Making Jonathan Rinderknecht a scapegoat is absurd.” While his son, a 29-year-old Frenchman, was arrested on October 8, suspected of being at the origin of the deadly fires of January 2025 in Los Angeles, Joël, a resident of Var, resumed his defense in the columns of France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
“A lot of misinformation has given a false image of our son Jonathan,” he reaffirms to local media.
“We remain fully confident”
According to the latest elements of the investigation, Jonathan Rinderknecht would have dropped off clients in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, precisely where the fire occurred.
This fire, initially controlled, reignited on January 7 and ultimately caused the death of 31 people. A serious tragedy, which federal prosecutor Bill Essayli did not hesitate to attribute to the young Frenchman, describing him as “unconscious” at the time of his arrest.
But for Joël, these accusations are based on fragile foundations. As a result, the Rinderknecht family recently hired a new attorney, Steven Haney Sr., who strongly disputes the prosecutor’s claims. In a statement carried by the New York Post, he said that “the government agencies involved in the Lachman and Palisades fires made egregious failures.”
Jonathan’s father expressed his “support” for this statement, adding: “We remain fully confident that the truth will be established and that it will restore Jonathan’s honor and that of our family.”
Prison sentence of 5 to 20 years
Beyond the human drama, the January fires caused colossal damage. The results show economic losses of 53 billion dollars, of which nearly 40 billion were insured, as well as more than 16,000 buildings destroyed by the flames.
If charges against Jonathan Rinderknecht are confirmed, he faces between 5 and 20 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors. For now he remains in preventive detention awaiting a trial date, which has not yet been set.
Source: BFM TV
