Former California resident Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of "maliciously" causing the Pacific Palisades fire that killed 12 and destroyed more than 6,800 structures in January. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Justice
Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Jonathan Rinderknect was charged on Wednesday with starting the Pacific Palisades fire that burned through most of January, killed a dozen people and burned more than 23,000 acres.
Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of "maliciously starting what became the Pacific Palisades fire," which burned from Jan. 7 through the rest of the month, the Department of Justice said Wednesday in a news release.
Investigators said they used geolocation data from Rinderknecht's cell phone to determine his location before, during and after he allegedly started the Lachman fire, an ember of which days later sparked the much larger fire in the Palisades.
Rinderknecht, who the DOJ said is a previous resident of Pacific Palisades, was arrested Tuesday in Florida, where he moved after starting the fire, the BBC reported.
