帕利塞兹大火纵火案重审开始遴选陪审员：首审陪审团10比2倾向无罪后流审
美国加利福尼亚州洛杉矶（Los Angeles）县洛杉矶市市中心联邦法院11月2日开始为帕利塞兹大火纵火案重审遴选陪审员，数百名候选陪审员被传唤到庭接受问询。被告 Jonathan Rinderknecht 现年30岁，曾为 Uber 司机，拥有美国与法国双重国籍，已作无罪答辩，目前仍在联邦羁押中。
检方指控，Rinderknecht 于2025年1月1日用烧烤打火机在 Pacific Palisades 的 Summit 社区附近点燃灌木火（Lachman 火），火势表面上被扑灭，却在茂密灌木根部阴燃多日，1月7日在 Santa Ana 强风助长下复燃，酿成帕利塞兹大火。大火造成12人死亡，烧毁约23448英亩土地，摧毁约6500栋建筑，是洛杉矶历史上破坏力最大的火灾之一，损失以数十亿美元计。
首审今年6月经10天审理后以流审告终：陪审团以10比2倾向无罪、无法就三项纵火相关指控达成一致。此次重审的替代起诉书删去「放火烧林」一项指控，剩余两项为以火毁坏财物与纵火危害州际商业用财产，第一项的指控范围也收窄为仅指 Lachman 火；若罪名成立，被告最高面临40年监禁。主审法官 Anne Hwang 已裁定，重审中不得提及首审。
被告否认指控。辩护律师 Steve Haney 称其当事人被错告，主张元旦山火由节日烟花引发、帕利塞兹大火是另一场独立火灾；检方则称监控录像与手机定位数据显示，起火时被告是现场附近唯一的人。
（来源：路透）
Jury Selection Begins in Palisades Fire Arson Retrial After First Jury Deadlocked 10-2 Toward Acquittal
Jury selection began on November 2 at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, California, for the retrial of the Palisades Fire arson case, with hundreds of prospective jurors summoned for questioning. The defendant, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver with dual U.S.-French citizenship, has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody.
Prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht used a grill lighter to set a brush fire, the Lachman Fire, near the Summit neighborhood of Pacific Palisades on January 1, 2025. The fire was quickly suppressed on the surface but smoldered in the roots of dense scrub for days before reigniting on January 7 under fierce Santa Ana winds and exploding into the Palisades Fire. The blaze killed 12 people, burned about 23,448 acres and destroyed about 6,500 structures, making it one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, with damage in the billions of dollars.
The first trial ended in a mistrial in June after a 10-day trial in which jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal on three arson-related charges. A superseding indictment for the retrial drops the timber-set-afire count and leaves two charges, destruction of property by means of fire and arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, with the first count now referring only to the Lachman Fire; a conviction as charged carries up to 40 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang has ruled that there be no reference to the first trial during the retrial.
Rinderknecht denies the charges. Defense attorney Steve Haney says his client was wrongly accused, arguing the New Year's Day blaze was triggered by holiday fireworks and the Palisades inferno was a separate fire, while prosecutors say surveillance video and cellphone location data show Rinderknecht was the only person near the scene when the fire began.
(Source: Reuters)
来源：路透
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：洛杉矶Edward R. Roybal联邦大楼与法院外墙上的雕塑《新世界》。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The sculpture 'The New World' on the exterior of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and Courthouse in Los Angeles. By Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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