A juror who sat on the case against alleged Palisades arson suspect Jonathan Rinderknecht offered a blunt assessment of the prosecution’s evidence, describing the case as “bulls-t.”
Juror No. 4, identified as Bryana from Lompoc, California, told The California Post that she did not believe the government had made a persuasive case and said she felt the proceedings wasted the jury’s time.
“It’s disappointing because of how much money and time they put into the same thing. I don’t know … but like, yeah, bullsh*t,” she said.
Bryana said she repeatedly questioned the strength of the evidence presented in court. “I really felt like, ‘What are we doing here?’ a lot of times,” she said. “And at first my thoughts were like, ‘Oh, even if he’s guilty, there’s not enough…’ You know like you feel like that? You see it on TV all the time — murderers get off, and I mean, that’s how my brain went.”
She added that, in her view, the prosecution’s presentation had the opposite effect of what was intended. “You’re supposed to be presenting this case to me to convict that man, and I felt like, ‘No, that doesn’t make sense. Like, what?’ Like, you’re making me feel like he’s more and more innocent with each fact.”
On Friday, jurors returned to a Los Angeles federal courtroom, where the foreman was questioned about the panel’s failure to reach a unanimous decision in the trial.
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The court asked whether the foreman believed the jurors were unable to agree, whether there was anything the court could do to help, and whether the panel might reach a verdict if sent back for further deliberations.
The foreman answered no to each question, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial. According to the split, two jurors believed Rinderknecht was guilty, while 10 favored acquittal. Rinderknecht showed little reaction as the decision was announced and will remain in custody.
LA’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, was quick to declare he will retry Rinderknecht.
“The evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades fire. We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts,” he posted on X.
Bryana said she felt like Rinderknecht wasn’t a loner as prosecutors had painted him, but just a “regular, troubled person.”
“I went in knowing I felt like with the evidence he was not guilty,” she said. “So I did, I looked at that because I know what it’s like. I know what it’s like to — I just have an awesome family that supports me, and no one would know I was so, you know, outside.”
She also complimented Steve Haney, Rinderknecht’s attorney, for his “bougie” dresswear and said he laid out the case eloquently for his client.
“He pointed out great points to like make you understand. Yeah, I think he’s awesome,” she said.
