Man recalls ‘disturbing’ ride with Uber driver now accused of sparking Palisades Fire

Uber passenger recalls ride with alleged Palisades Fire suspect

A passenger who rode with the man now charged in the Palisades Fire shares what he remembers from that unsettling ride with Jonathan Rinderknecht.

LOS ANGELES - Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old Uber driver, has been charged with sparking the deadly Palisades Fire. 

The backstory:

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, Rinderknecht, who was working as an Uber driver, allegedly started a fire in the Palisades area shortly after midnight on New Year's Day, after dropping off passengers nearby.

Prosecutors contend Rinderknecht, who once lived in the neighborhood, drove toward Skull Rock Trailhead, parked his car, attempted to contact a former friend, and then walked up the trail to an area known as the Hidden Buddha clearing. He used his iPhone to take videos at a nearby hilltop area and listened to a French rap song titled "Un Zder, Un The" -- to which he had listened repeatedly in previous days and the music video for which includes images of the artist setting fire, Essayli said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Jonathan Rinderknecht: Palisades Fire suspect denied bond
• Palisades man who lost home in flames reacts to neighbor's arrest
• LAFD releases 70-page document detailing successes, failures of Palisades Fire response
• Jonathan Rinderknecht: What we know about the man accused in the Palisades Fire

Using witness statements, video surveillance, cell data, and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene, investigators determined Rinderknecht used an "open flame" to set the hilltop fire initially known as the Lachman Fire that was believed to have been doused, but which smoldered undetected for a week. Heavy winds on Jan. 7 caused the underground fire to surface and spread above ground in what became known as the Palisades Fire, causing widespread damage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, prosecutors said.

A man who was in an Uber with Rinderknecht is speaking out about his encounter and experience, noting that he was "just a really angry guy." 

What they're saying:

"He was a nut job," is how Brennan White describes the Uber driver who picked him and his fiancée up on New Year's Eve last year. "He kept on going about not finding girls and how horrible Trump was," he adds, explaining the young man was not really talking to them just seemed to be talking to himself and venting. 

White said that once they got to the location, they forgot about the whole thing until he got a call from LAPD detectives in February asking about their Uber driver. "They would not tell me what it was about." He said he was asked about the driver's behavior and even the clothes he was wearing. He remembers giving them the receipt for the Uber ride, which did not have a photo of the driver, but had his name, "Jon", as well as a time stamp and location. 

re-

After detectives took his statement, White said he forgot about the whole thing until he saw the picture of the man arrested in connection with the Pacific Palisades fire. 

"When I looked at his photo that they had on the news, I remembered that long gross hair. I remember that hair when he was driving us through the light," White added. 

"We were probably his earlier ride," noting that they were dropped off in the San Fernando Valley before midnight. 

He describes the whole thing as particularly disturbing, because he has worked for years as a bartender in Malibu. "I know so many people who lost their homes in that fire," he explained, saying he wishes he had known something at the time so he could have stopped him. 

Uber released a statement Wednesday saying, "As soon as we learned of the driver's suspected involvement we removed their access to the Uber platform and continued to work with the ATF on this nine-month investigation."