A (19:57)
On New Year's Eve 2024, 29 year old Jonathan Renderneck started a fire in the middle of a hiking trail in the Pacific Palisades in la. Then shortly after midnight, while the rest of the city is ringing in the New Year, Jonathan turned around and walked back to his car while the flames grew larger behind him. During the five minute walk, he tried to call 911 multiple times, but he didn't have any service so his calls didn't go through. Finally, he reached the bottom of the hiking trail and that's when he finally gets through to a dispatcher and reported the fire. Then he got back into his car and drove away. By that point, a nearby resident had already alerted the authorities and first responders were already rushing to the scene. As Jonathan drove, he saw the fire engines rushing in the opposite direction. Seemingly without thinking, Jonathan pulled a quick U turn, then sped behind the fire engines all the way back up to the scene. He parked near the trail again, then walked to the area where firefighters were trying to put out the fire at 1:02am he even pulled out his phone to take more videos. A few minutes later, he turned to leave again and on the way back to his car, Jonathan bumped into the firefighters and offered to help them, but they told him no. So Jonathan left the area for good. Firefighters continued working throughout the next day, and by January 2, 2025, they seemed to have fully extinguished what had become later known as the Lockman Fire. However, no one realized that there was more disaster waiting. Something known as a zombie fire or holdover fire was building. The embers of the Lockman fire were lingering underground. Contained by roots and dense vegetation. They smolder unnoticed for days until a week later, on January 7, just before 10:30am, the perfect storm erupted. Hurricane level winds hit Los Angeles. They were so strong, they uprooted the vegetation that held the lingering embers, pulling them to the surface and setting them on fire. The flames grew and spread above ground, fully reigniting into what is now known as the Palisades Fire. Within hours, the fire blazed through the woods and into the surrounding neighborhoods. Multiple homes caught on fire and they continued to burn through January 8th. In that time, the community experienced devastating, irreversible loss. Many were left without a roof over their heads. Their personal and family histories were lost to the ashes. People were lucky if they even saved their pets. Over the course of three weeks, this fire consumed the Pacific Palisades as well as nearby Topanga and Malibu. It is one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, taking the lives of 12 people. Over 23,000 acres burned, along with nearly 7,000 structures, causing $150 billion in damage. And no one could understand how it happened. When authorities got their bearings and began looking into the initial Lockman fire, they focused on the 911 call that came in from the scene when the fire started, the call From Jonathan on January 24, they asked Jonathan to come in and try and help them piece things together. At that time, he told them he was taking a walk on the trail when he spotted the flames. His story seems to check out, so they let him go. But soon they realize there's a problem with his story. Authorities suspected the Lockman fire was man made. They also knew exactly when the fire started because environmental sensing platforms had registered it. And when they started collecting cell phone and other geolocation data, they discovered that Jonathan was the only only person in the area when the fire began. Not only that, but he was only about 30ft away from the edge of the fire as it grew. Now, Jonathan's story wasn't adding up and authorities Thought he might have started the fire himself, but they couldn't prove it. Months go by, and members of the public were demanding answers, so investigators scaled up their efforts. The LAPD teamed up with the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, otherwise known as atf. The Lockman fire was set on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a federally funded organization. And the Palisades fire burned federal property, which made this a federal case. Together, the team of investigators combed through mountains of evidence, including Jonathan's Internet history. As part of the evidence, they collected images that Jonathan generated with Chat GPT going back months. In July 2024, Jonathan used ChatGPT to create a, quote, dystopian painting divided into two parts. He asked for one side to show a burning forest with people running from the fire and for the other side to show a garbage gate marked with a gigantic dollar sign. He then told Chat GPT to place all the world's richest people behind the gate, laughing, dancing and enjoying themselves while others suffered on the outside. Then, in November 2024, Jonathan told ChatGPT that he burned a bible and that it felt liberating. Authorities also discovered that Jonathan said the same thing to a family member. Now, authorities believed Jonathan may have taken his fantasies into the real world and intentionally started the Lockman fire. But when they tried to bring him in again, they couldn't find him. By October 2025, Jonathan had moved to Melbourne, Florida to live with his sister, his brother in law, and their two children. Fortunately, investigators tracked him down and on October 7, Jonathan was arrested in Florida and taken into federal custody. On Thursday, October 9, Jonathan's initial hearing took place in Orlando, Florida, about 70 miles from where he was living. No plea was entered at the time. When it came to letting him out on bond, the prosecutors argued that Jonathan is dangerous, had mental health issues and violent tendencies, and that his behavior was becoming more erratic. All the while, Jonathan shook his head and swayed side to side in a leather swivel chair. Judge Nathan Hill agreed with the prosecutor. He worries that Jonathan's mental state is deteriorating and that if he was released from custody, he could pose a threat if he was left alone and unsupervised. So instead of setting a bail amount, Judge Hill ordered Jonathan's detention. In short, Jonathan was denied bail because of many mental wellness concerns. His sisters cried and held each other in a courthouse hallway. After the hearing on Wednesday, October 15, Jonathan returned to court again. This time, a federal grand jury charged him on three counts. One count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. On October 23, in a Los Angeles courtroom, Jonathan Pleasant pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Jonathan could face anywhere between five and 45 years in federal prison. His trial has been set for December 16 and is expected to last seven to 10 days. Until then, we'll keep you up to date on all of the major developments in this case. As the people affected try to rebuild their lives and mourn those who lost their lives, an entire city waits to see if they'll get answers and hopefully, justice. What did you think of today's cases? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments. See you next time. If you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel Rimehouse Daily and follow us on social media Rimehouse247 for real time updates. 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