(NewsNation) — An attorney who represented O.J. Simpson says the timeline of events in the case of the suspect in the Palisades wildfire investigation will be crucial in maintaining his innocence.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested in Florida and charged with destruction of property by means of fire. Rinderknecht was a former resident of the Pacific Palisades area, authorities said.
„There is analysis that seeks to exclude, for example, a cigarette, that seeks to exclude lightning, because there had been no evidence of lightning for 30 days within a 20-mile radius of where the Palisades Fire started,“ Carl Douglas told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield.
Authorities have accused Rinderknecht of starting the „Lachman Fire,“ which started New Year’s Day, according to a criminal complaint. Rinderknecht allegedly then hiked up a trail and shot videos of the fire area.
Douglas said there is certainly a great deal of circumstantial evidence connecting Rinderknecht to the Lachman Fire. He pointed out that Rinderknecht interviewed with investigators Jan. 24 and gave inconsistent statements.
„They interviewed his former customers, passengers on Uber that night, who remember weeks later that he was agitated and angry as they were delivering him to an area right near the fire,“ Douglas added.
„They interviewed a former roommate who lived in the area. There’s that six-day gap that I’m sure his lawyers are going to focus on.“
„There’s no suggestion that he was anywhere near the area of the Palisades fire where it started.“
Experts will battle over connecting suspect to both fires: Douglas
Douglas believes it will be a scientific battle to connect Rinderknecht to the Lachman and Palisades fires.
„They have him 64 different ways,“ he said. „But to connect that with the start of the Palisades fire, I think is going to be the true challenge for the prosecution in that eventual case.“
Asked if there’s a causation issue to be questioned, Douglas said, „That the roots kept burning and started the Palisades Fire is just a bridge too far. That is one speculation as to the cause. They now believe that the Palisades Fire is what’s called a holdover fire. The Lachman Fire was put out quite quickly. And in fact, the fire department left their hoses there in the area because oftentimes embers burn and simmer under roots.“
Palisades Fire suspect’s behavior typical of arsonist: Panel
Rick Crawford, a former battalion chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department, and Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of California, told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that Rinderknecht showed signs of “typical firebug behavior.”
“An arson investigator … what they do is they look at the behavior of a person like this individual,” Crawford said.
“And what happens is they like to watch their work. Lots of times, they want to help put the fire out. They’ve had an interest in being a firefighter at some point, and not able to quite make it there,” Crawford added.
Crawford also said technology played a pivotal part in the investigation: “Things like being able to geolocate (Rinderknecht), infrared drones to map the fire’s perimeter and capture the hot spots in real time. It shows technology is one of our best witnesses.”
