By JAIMIE DING and CHRISTOPHER WEBER - Associated Press
Updated
Prosecutors in the federal trial of the man accused of sparking last year’s deadly Palisades Fire have laid out a narrative for jurors of a premeditated arsonist who tried to cover his tracks. Jonathan Rinderknecht's attorneys on Wednesday offered an alternate story of a man who tried his best to stop the blaze. The 29-year-old Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Attorneys presented opening statements Wednesday. Whether prosecutors can prove that Rinderknecht started a fire in Los Angeles on Jan. 1, 2025, and that it then turned into the Palisades Fire will be at the center of the trial.
An Austin Metcalf supporter holds a sign as law enfrocement officilals walk past in front of the Collin County courthouse following the verdict in the trial was reached Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
An emotional Karmelo Anthony supporter is consoled by another outside the Collin County courthouse after the verdict was reached in the trial Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
A person walks around announcing the guilty verdict in the Karmelo Anthony trial in front of the Collin County courthouse, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
FILE - Nancy Iskander, left, holding the hand of her husband, Karim, leaves Van Nuys Courthouse June 10, 2024, in Van Nuys, Calif., after attending the sentencing hearing in the murder trial of Rebecca Grossman, who is charged in the deaths of their two sons, Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Brendan Banfield looks on during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool, File)
A judge has dismissed a murder charge against an Arkansas sheriff nominee who was accused of killing his teenage daughter’s alleged abuser in 2024. Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. dismissed the case against Aaron Spencer on Thursday because a dash camera memory card that may have captured the shooting was lost by law enforcement. His trial on the second-degree murder charge was expected to begin in just a few weeks. Spencer’s attorneys did not deny that he shot and killed 67-year-old Michael Fosler. Fosler was out on bond after being charged with dozens of sexual offenses against Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.
FILE - This undated photo provided by attorney Erin Cassinelli shows Aaron Spencer, a Republican candidate for sheriff in Lonoke County, Arkansas, who won a GOP primary March 3, 2026, defeating the incumbent sheriff to advance to the general election despite awaiting trial for a murder charge. (Heather Spencer/Erin Cassinelli via AP, File)
By MEAD GRUVER and MATTHEW BROWN - Associated Press
Updated
A Colorado court reversed homicide convictions against two paramedics on Thursday in the ketamine overdose death of Elijah McClain after the Black man was pinned down by police. The court ordered new trials for Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec. McClain had been forcibly restrained by police, who responded to a suspicious person complaint and stopped the massage therapist as he walked home from a convenience store in 2019. Cooper and Cichuniec were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Cichuniec also was convicted of felony assault, and the appeals court affirmed that conviction.
