The latest information on the investigation into the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who’s body was found inside a Tesla registered to the pop singer D4vd, appeared in Texas, where D4vd’s family tried to block an LA court order. Plus, documents released by the LA Fire Department show their intricate plans to try to control news coverage of the Palisades fire after action report, and the former fire chief, dismissed after the fire, has sued the Mayor alleging retaliation.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

New developments in stories from years past: a jury has reached a decision about the death of LAPD Officer Houston Tipping, who suffered a catastrophic spinal injury during training, and the State Bar of California moves to punish a former top LA City Attorney’s Office official for his role in the lawsuits that followed the DWP’s over billing mess. Plus, the arson trial for the man accused of causing the Palisades Fire may be delayed again, while Palisades fire victims have won a major legal victory in their effort to hold the City of LA and State of California responsible for the damage.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

How did federal agents catch Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian snowboarder facing indictment in Los Angeles for allegedly trafficking tons of cocaine through the U.S. to Canada? The FBI says he was caught after a decade-long manhunt; authorities in Mexico say Wedding walked into a US embassy and surrendered. Plus - the LAPD is handed a court order that’s changed the ‘less-lethal’ weapons officers are allowed to use at protests, and whether a man detained in Montana is connected to the secretive LAPD investigation into the death of Celeste Rivas, whose body was found in a Tesla registered to the singer “D4VD.”  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

Finally we have some insight into whether firefighters communicated their concerns -- that the smaller brush fire blamed for causing the Palisades fire -- had been fully extinguished. New court documents provide our clearest window into what evidence may exist. Plus - the City of LA has recorded its fewest murders since 1966. How is this possible when the LAPD has shrunk to its smallest size in more than a decade, and it appears more officers will retire than will be hired in 2026.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

Nick Reiner -- charged with murdering his parents Rob and Michele Reiner -- lost his private legal defense team at a hearing this week. But the judge also discussed an ongoing defense investigation that may suggest where the criminal case is headed. Plus -- moment by moment of what happened in court, and what the lawyers said outside.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

The LAPD is ending 2025 with two key numbers going the wrong way: officers have used their guns far more often on duty than in recent years, and the number of officers employed by the City of LA is shrinking. Also, some new text messages exchanged by California State Parks employees could shed light on what happened in the days before the Palisades fire, when firefighters were mopping-up from a much smaller brush fire that continued to smolder.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

Cops called out bad information circulating on the investigation into the death of Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, the teen whose remains were found in the Tesla sedan registered to the singer D4vd. Also, why the defense lawyer for the man accused of causing the Palisades fire is very interested in the lawsuit filed by Palisades fire victims against the City of Los Angeles.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

An unusual hearing was held this week in federal court in Downtown LA – when a judge was asked to disqualify the acting US Attorney for Southern California. Former state assemblyman Bill Essayli first served as the interim US Attorney, now described as an, ‘acting,” US Attorney – raising questions about whether his tenure is lawful under a variety of laws. Could the judge’s decision affect criminal cases in LA? Also, the latest on the man accused of causing the Palisades Fire, and the arrest of a former LAPD officer who was once cleared in the on-duty killing of a man in Venice.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

After months of investigation the ATF announced this week that agents had arrested a 29-year-old man on a federal arson charge – and accused him of causing the Palisades Fire. Jonathan Rinderknecht is being held in Florida with no bail, after fire investigators concluded the January 7th Palisades Fire was a reignition of a January 1st brush fire in the same area. Rinderknecht is charged with igniting the January 1st fire, and federal prosecutors say more charges are likely.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

Why did so many news outlets blast out headlines – that an arrest had been made in the death of Celeste Rivas? No such arrest was made – we explain the confusion and have updates on another murder investigation tied to remains in a car, plus -- why a family’s lawsuit could renew a criminal investigation into an in-custody death at LA’s Twin Towers jail.  

Thanks for listening to The Leonard Files – Stay with us as we uncover

the investigations from some of LA’s most challenging and intriguing

moments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next episode of The Leonard

Files.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.