An $11 million mansion owned by NBA legend Chris Bosh has been implicated in the Palisades Fire arson case, with the defense seeking testimony about a fireworks display allegedly launched from Bosh’s property near where the Lachman Fire ignited the same night.
Jonathan Rinderknecht is retried for starting the Lachman fire on January 1, 2025 by igniting vegetation with a lighter. His defense denies the allegations, citing reports of fireworks in the area as a possible cause.
Investigators believe the Lachman Fire smoldered underground for six days before reigniting as the deadly Palisades Fire.
Rinderknecht’s defense seeks to introduce testimony from Michael T. Cole, a retired Cal Fire investigator who spent 18 years in the agency’s arson unit, according to court documents obtained by the California Post.
“Mr. Cole is expected to testify that during his investigation of the 2025 Palisades Fire, he observed and documented a mark and associated burn and smoke trail on the driveway and rear patio of the residence at (redacted), and that, based on his training and experience, those marks
is physical evidence of a fireworks display,” the filing from Rinderknecht’s attorney, Steve Haney, states.
The residence identified in Haney’s court documents belongs to Chris Bosh, the two-time NBA champion who formed the Miami Heat’s famous “Big Three” alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
The former NBA big man played his last game with the Heat in 2016 and retired from basketball in February 2019 due to a blood clotting issue. He began his career with the Toronto Raptors in 2003 and was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Bosh was renting the home when the devastating fire broke out, The Post has learned. A representative for Bosh could not be reached.
Prosecutors fought back in their own case, seeking to disqualify Cole as a witness and arguing that he had “no qualifications, training or experience” to connect the brownish driveway markings found a month after the fire to fireworks.
“His entire expert opinion is based on six drone photographs of a brown stain on the driveway, taken in February 2025 or 2026. No close in-person inspection, no further testing. Six drone photographs, that’s it,” prosecutors said in court documents.
The prosecution also argued that it was not properly informed of Cole’s existence and that the defense delayed releasing information about him this week.
Investigators reportedly found a lighter in Rinderknecht’s vehicle during a search on January 24, 2025, although he was not arrested for allegedly starting the fire until October 7, 2025. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest.
Cole’s testimony would help support accounts of fireworks near the Lachman Fire that night, although Haney stressed that Cole “will not offer an opinion on the origin or cause” of the fire.
Rinderknecht’s attorney, Steve Haney, recently showed the jury a video of an experiment conducted under conditions similar to the alleged crime. The video showed a green barbecue lighter attempting to ignite dead brush in the Pacific Palisades, but was unsuccessful.
“Based on this video, this lighter does not have the capacity to start the fire on January 1,” Haney told the California Post after his opening statements last week.
Rinderknecht has high stakes as the prosecution seeks to convict him after his first trial was declared a mistrial in June.
Federal prosecutors have narrowed the charges against Rinderknecht, with one count now focusing solely on the Lachman fire while another still holds him responsible for the deadly Palisades fire.
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