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Arrested Friday were Ryan Deahl and Eric Mejia-Vides, both 18. Both are charged with arson, burglary and conspiracy to commit both, Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet and Middlesex Borough Police Chief Matthew Geist said in a joint release.
Deahl also was charged with having a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, they said.
A firefighter sustained a minor injury in the blaze, which broke out late Thursday at 826 Lincoln Blvd.
Firefighters knocked it down quickly, but an extensive overhaul was needed.
Middlesex firefighters (Lincoln Hose) were assisted by Dunellen Defender Fire Company #1. Also responding were the Middlesex County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital EMS and investigators from the prosecutor’s office.
Deahl and Mejia-Vides were arrested and charged following an investigation by Detective Sean Flanagan of the Middlesex Police Department and Detective Kevin Schroeck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Kuberiet commended “the quick response of the Middlesex Police Department, which determined that the cause of the fire was of a criminal nature.”
The investigation was continuing. Anyone with information that could help is asked to contact Flannagan at (732) 356-1900 or Schroeck at (732) 745-4194.
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