Find Your Daily Voice
Ocean
Your Local News for Ocean County, New Jersey
Saturday, apr 27
48°
Follow
News
Schools
Business
Obituaries
Police & Fire
Weather
Lifestyle
Politics
Sports
Traffic
Real Estate
Tags
Jobs
Shop
Support Us
Ocean
Follow
Find Your Daily Voice
News
Schools
Business
Obituaries
Police & Fire
Weather
Lifestyle
Politics
Sports
Traffic
Real Estate
Tags
Jobs
Shop
Support Us
Home
About us
All sites
Advertise with us
Contact us
Terms of use
Privacy policy
Code of ethics
Site Map
© 2024 Cantata Media
48°
Saturday, apr 27
Tag:
Arson
Police & Fire
Man Intentionally Set Fires At Central Jersey Property Since December: Police
A Monmouth County man was accused of intentionally setting fires on the same property over the past five months, authorities said. Albert Caporaso, 49, of Hazlet, was arrested on early in the morning on Friday, Apr. 26, the Hazlet Township Police Department said in a Facebook post. He was facing charges for several arsons since Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. A Hazlet officer was watching the South Laurel Avenue home at around 11:56 p.m. on Thursday, Apr. 25, when a man matching the suspect's description from previous arsons walked onto the property. The man, later identified as Caporaso, entered a…
Police & Fire
South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise
A nonprofit thrift store in Atlantic County is about to reopen more than three months after it was significantly damaged in an arson fire. The Goodwill store on Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township will hold a grand reopening on Thursday, May 2. The shop in the Cardiff Plaza Shopping Center lost all of its merchandise in a fire on Monday, Jan. 15. Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia announced the celebration in a Facebook post on Thursday, Apr. 25. "Thanks to the generosity of the local community, we are back and better than ever," the post said. "Come shop for a…
Police & Fire
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…
Police & Fire
Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police
A 44-year-old man has been charged with arson in connection with a blaze that broke out at a South Jersey church, police said. Brian Cannon is believed to have set fire to the Colonial Manor United Methodist Church on Elberne Avenue in West Deptford on Friday, April 20, local police said. He was charged with two counts of arson and aggravated assault. Multiple fire companies responded to the church around 6:40 a.m. Friday. One firefighter was hospitalized with an injury suffered fighting the blaze, and has since been released.
Police & Fire
Sayreville Dad Accused Of Killing 9-Year-Old Son Dies: Prosecutor
The 43-year-old Sayreville man accused of killing his 9-year-old has died, authorities announced. Manuel Rivera had been charged with arson and murder for killing his 9-year-old son, Christian, near Sayreville High School on March 28. ALSO SEE: Body Of 'Superstar' NJ 9-Year-Old Believed Killed By Dad Not Yet Released Rivera died on Wednesday, April 17 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He had suffered from self-inflicted stab wounds and burns and remained in critical condition until his death, the prosecutor said. R…
Police & Fire
Police Detail Suicide Note Penned By NJ Dad Before Killing 9-Year-Old Son: Affidavit
The death of a 9-year-old boy at the hands of his father in Sayreville was intended to be a murder-suicide, according to police paperwork obtained by Daily Voice. Manuel Rivera, 43, recorded an apology video following a marital dispute he’d been having with a “witness” just before leaving an Eisenhower Drive home with the 9-year-old boy Thursday, March 28, according to an affidavit for probable cause obtained by Daily Voice. “We spoke to a witness who indicated that her and Mr. Rivera were having marital issues and that he sent her a video to her phone,” Sayreville Police Det…
Police & Fire
Dad Charged With Murder In 9-Year-Old Son's Death Is Employed By Sayreville Schools: Officials
Charges have been upgraded for a New Jersey dad whose deceased 9-year-old son was found in a burning vehicle, authorities said. Manuel Rivera has been charged with second-degree aggravated arson, first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree desecration of human remains, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. According to Sayreville Schools Superintendent Richard Labbe, 43-year-old Rivera was employed by the district, and his son was a student at the Wilson School. The charges were filed in connection with an incident Thursday…
Police & Fire
Arsonists Break Into Egg Harbor Home, Start Living Room Fire: Prosecutor
A pair of men from Ocean County have been charged with setting a home on fire in Little Egg Harbor, authorities said. Thomas Lester, 20, of Tuckerton, and Ethan Salter, 19, of Little Egg Harbor Township, broke into a National Union Boulevard home on Jan. 8 around 2:15 p.m., then started a fire in the living room, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said on Friday, March 8. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze and about two months later, Lester and Salter were each arrested at their homes and charged with aggravated arson, arson, burglary, criminal misc…
Police & Fire
Plumsted Man Intentionally Started Two Fires, Including State-Owned Building: Prosecutors
A Plumsted Township man was accused of intentionally starting two fires in Ocean County, authorities said. Edward Petroni, 41, was charged on Monday, Mar. 4 with two counts of aggravated arson, burglary, and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a news release. The charges come from two fires in Plumsted and Jackson townships on Friday, Mar. 1. First responders were called to what was described as a "shed fire" near Maple Avenue and Brown Road in Plumsted at around 1:20 p.m. The structure was actually a bus stop …
Police & Fire
Pair Beat Man Then Set His Belongings On Fire At Rutgers, Campus Police Say
A man was beaten and his belongings were set on fire near the Rutgers University campus, authorities said. Two New Brunswick men were arrested Tuesday, Feb. 27 in the 2:30 p.m. Sunday attack, according to the Rutgers University Police Department. The attack reportedly followed a verbal dispute at a New Brunswick business earlier Sunday. The attackers allegedly followed the man near the Center for Vector Biology at 180 Jones Ave. at the edge of the Rutgers University campus and hit him with a blunt object, police said. The victim was not affiliated with Rutgers, they said. As the vict…
Police & Fire
Toms River Arsonist Admits Torching 6 Commercial Vehicles
A Toms River man admitted to torching six commercial vehicles at a business in Monmouth County, authorities said. Harcourt "Paul" Ward, 70, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 2, to third-degree arson, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced on Friday, Jan. 19. As part of his plea deal, the state has recommended three years in prison for Ward. Wall Township police were called to a fire on the 1900 block of Atlantic Avenue just after 10 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Officers and firefighters found six commercial vehicles on fire. The fire caused more than $1 million in estimated …
Police & Fire
Caught In The Act: Arsonist Torches Neighbor's Home 3X In Little Egg Harbor, Prosecutor Says
A 36-year-old man has been accused of setting three separate fires at his next door neighbor's home in Ocean County, authorities said. Steven Johnson, of Little Egg Harbor, was ultimately caught hopping a fence to get to his neighbor's home on Revolutionary Road around 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Little Egg Harbor Township Chief of Police James Hawkins said. Authorities had been conducting surveillance on the home as fires had broken out there on Jan. 6 and Jan. 10, Hawkins and Billhimer said. Johnson poured a liquid on the attached deck of…
Police & Fire
Blazing Out-Of-State Trespasser Ignites Trailer Fire Near Meadowlands: Carlstadt PD
An out-of-state man ignited a fire while smoking pot in a trailer off Route 120 in Carlstadt, authorities said. Detective Sgt. Mark Wong was headed north on the highway when he saw smoke coming from the roof of the trailer on the Home Improvement Team property less than a mile north of the Meadowlands shortly before 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22. The sergeant also saw a man tipping away wearing a backpack and holding some belongings in his hands, Police Chief Thomas Cox said. Officer Matthew Bartlett assisted Wong in detaining Joe Jacob Perez of Lowell, Massachusetts, while firefighters doused t…
Police & Fire
Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Lacey Township: Cops
Two Ocean County men were arrested for lighting a fire in a women's restroom and spray-painting swastikas around a public park, authorities said. Alexander Gerber, 19, and Connor Dougherty, 20, both of Lacey Township, are facing arson charges for the fire in the women's restroom in Gille Park on Nov. 21, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Lacey Township Chief of Police Christopher Kenny said. The pair are also being held responsible for spray-painting swastikas and other graffiti in various locations of the park, police said. Officers likewise discovered damage to th…
Police & Fire
2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say
Life imitated art when a reputed Gambino crime family captain threatened to burn down a Jersey Shore restaurant, then went to a service station across the street and tried to buy and fill a plastic gas can, federal authorities said. In what could’ve been a scene from any number of modern-day mob movies, Joseph Lanni of Staten Island became a walking cliché, the Justice Department said in announcing an organized-crime takedown that stretched all the way to Sicily. Lanni and fellow Staten Islander Vincent “Vinny Slick” Minsquero “became belligerent” after being asked to leave Roxy’s Bar and G…
Police & Fire
PA Man Charged With Torching NJ Home For Insurance Money
A Pennsylvania man already awaiting trial in connection with other incidents was charged with setting fire to a former home in Cherry Hill to collect on the insurance. Richard Orlandini, 62, of Wilkes Barre, collected at least $75,000 from Allstate by "recklessly placing others in danger of death or bodily injury," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Firefighters reported finding the two-story single-family home on Chapel Avenue West well-involved shortly before 1:30 a.m. Oct. 20, 2018. No injuries were reported and the house had to be demolished. Orlandini deli…
Police & Fire
Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His Apartment Arrested In Toms River: Police
A 40-year-old arsonist was found unconscious after setting a fire that ignited a Somerset County apartment, authorities said. Dashawn Holmes, a tenant in an East Main Street building in Somerville, was found unconscious by firefighters responding to the alarm set off just before midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 25, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Holmes was taken to an area hospital for treatment. The Somerville Fire Marshall responded to the scene and determined the fire to be suspicious in nature, said McDonald alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of…
Police & Fire
NYC Man Sentenced To Life In Love-Triangle Murder Of Popular NJ Software Engineer
For more than 12 years since popular software engineer Robert Cantor was brutally murdered in his Teaneck home, his twice-convicted killer has neither admitted it nor expressed any remorse. Sui Kam “Tony” Tung, 60, now has whatever’s left of his life to spend with whatever feelings he has following his sentencing Friday in Hackensack. This past July, jurors in that same courtroom convicted Tung of murdering Cantor, with whom his wife had been having an affair, in March of 2011. Superior Court Judge Christopher Kazlau said he’d seen enough of Tung to not be surprised by his refusal to spea…
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries
A Fair Lawn native who was critically injured trying to rescue a brother firefighter in a blaze in Baltimore has tragically made the ultimate sacrifice. Fire Lt. Dillion Rinaldo succumbed to his injuries Tuesday night, Oct. 24, five days after a rowhouse blaze claimed the life of a fellow smoke eater whom he and his colleagues had gone back in to save. "To the Rinaldo family, we are at a loss for words," the Fair Lawn Fire Department wrote in a social media post. "Your son Dillon will never be forgotten," the post reads. "He had the biggest heart and would literally help anyone in need. Al…
Police & Fire
Killer Sentenced To Life For Shooting Rapper, Then Dumping Burned Body In Paramus
UPDATE: An ex-con convicted a second time of shooting an aspiring rapper in a vacant home in Englewood, then burning the body and dumping it on a quiet Paramus cul-de-sac was sentenced to life in prison, authorities said. "There is nothing more cowardly than shooting someone in the back," Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Gary Donatello said before Randy Manning was sentenced in Superior Court in Hackensack for killing Rhian “Kampane” Stoute in 2011. Manning was originally convicted for the same crime and sent to state prison for life in 2014, but he got the conviction overturned in 2020 …
Police & Fire
Arsonist Left Trail Of Blood After Breaking Into Dad's Toms River Home: Prosecutor
A 45-year-old Ocean County man has been charged with breaking into his father's house, stealing a laptop and setting a fire inside the home, authorities said. John Voltolino, Jr., of Toms River, was charged with aggravated arson, burglary, theft, and criminal mischief, in connection with the incidents that occurred on Monday, Sept. 4, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to a residence on Sun Valley Road for a report of a burglary. The homeowner reported that his son broke into the re…
Police & Fire
Arsonist Torched Somerset County Home: Prosecutor
A 25-year-old man was arrested for intentionally starting a fire at a Somerset County home, authorities announced Tuesday, Aug. 22. Paul Basta, of June Place in Manville, was charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated arson, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said in a joint release. Basta is accused of intentionally setting fire to a Manville home shortly before emergency crews responded around 3:40 a.m. on Monday, May 15. The fire was extinguished by the Manville Fire Department with help from the Manville Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s…
Police & Fire
Bizarre NJ Love Triangle: NYC Man Again Convicted Of Murdering Estranged Wife's Lover
Jurors in Hackensack convicted a Manhattan man for a second time of brutally murdering a popular software engineer in his Teaneck home. Sui Kam "Tony" Tung was found guilty of all counts in the horrific killing of Robert Cantor, who authorities said was his estranged wife's lover, over a decade ago. Superior Court Judge Christopher Kazlau scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8. Tung faces a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Tung was found guilty of the same crimes in 2016, but a state appeals court overturned the convictions and sent the case…
News
High School Sweethearts' Dream Home Destroyed In Arsonist's Pine Lake Park Rampage
A family who lost their dream home to an arsonist's violent rampage through a Central Jersey neighborhood last month is hoping to rebuild. Angel and Brenda Rivas, who are high school sweethearts and share two daughters together, spent their life savings on a lot in Manchester Township's Pine Lake Park in October 2017. They broke ground in October 2022 and were planning on moving in come Fall 2023, according to a GoFundMe page for the family. Fate cared little for their future, though, as on June 7, 2023, the family fell victim to a hate crime at the hands of Ron Carr, prosecutors in Ocean…
Police & Fire
Arsonist Targeted Jewish Residents In Fiery Anti-Semitic Rampage Across Manchester Township: AG
A 34-year-old Jersey Shore man accused of spray-painting swastikas on several structures and causing a fire that gutted a house earlier this week was being held in a medical facility, authorities said. Ron Carr, 34, of Manchester, scrawled Nazi symbolism on more than a dozen homes, residential fences and elsewhere, targeting Jewish residents in the early hours of Wednesday, June 7, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Carr damaged more than a dozen homes, and used an accelerant to set a fire that destroyed a house in the township…
Police & Fire
Murder
: Englewood Man Convicted Again Of Shooting, Burning Rapper, Dumping Body In Paramus
An Englewood man faces 30 years to life in prison after jurors in Hackensack convicted him of murder for a second time for shooting an aspiring rapper and then setting his body on fire. Randy Manning was originally found guilty and sentenced to life in 2014 for killing Rhian “Kampane” Stoute in Englewood three years earlier. Manning got the state Supreme Court to support a lower court ruling overturning the conviction and granting him a new trial in 2020. The verdicts this time were pretty much the same: Jurors found Manning guilty of murder, desecration and unlawful moving of human remai…
Police & Fire
Swastikas Spray-Painted On Manchester Twp. Homes May Be Related To House Fire: AG
A fire that broke out this week at a Jersey Shore home is being investigated as a bias incident as swastikas had been spray-painted on several area homes before the blaze, authorities said. One suspect was in custody in connection with the Tuesday, June 6 incident, but their name was not released, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a joint statement. Further details including a location and time were not released. "Random acts of hate designed to instill fear and to violate New Jerseyans’ sense of security and belonging, solely…
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA
UPDATE: An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, then torched a used car dealership in Paterson and rammed a stolen SUV into police cars at both ends of the George Washington Bridge was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Luis Figueroa, 42, first took a plea deal from the government that called for him to serve 26 years in a federal penitentiary. Then he abruptly withdrew his plea, took his chances with a trial – and lost. Federal jurors in Newark convicted Figueroa in May 2022 of kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, illegal gun possession and assaulting…
News
Disgruntled Employee Admits Torching Jersey Shore Business After Being Fired: Police
A 26-year-old Toms River man admitted to setting a Lakewood business on fire after being terminated, authorities aid. Jorge Euxaque-Ballesteros pleaded guilty on Friday, March 31, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. On Jan. 19, 2022, at approximately 2 a.m., Lakewood Township police and firefighters were dispatched to a business on Cross Street in reference to a sprinkler system alarm. Firefighters were able to extinguish a fire in the basement of the business. Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was incendiary by an unknown …
Police & Fire
Man Eyed In Double Homicide Found Dead
Detectives are investigating the fatal shooting of a man and a woman in Gloucester City, authorities said. A "person of interest" in the fatal shooting, charged with arson, also is now dead of unspecified causes, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay and Gloucester City Police Chief Brian Morrell. On Monday, March 27, at 6:31 p.m., the Gloucester City Police Department and the Gloucester City Fire Department responded to a motel at 1200 Route 130 in Gloucester City for a fire alarm. Police fouind a dead man and dead woman in a motel ro…
News
Barnegat Woman Set Fire To Her Home: Prosecutor
A 44-year-old woman from Ocean County has been charged with setting fire to her home, authorities said. On Tuesday, March 21, Lisa Ziobro, of Barnegat, was charged with two counts of aggravated arson and four counts of arson, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer Billhimer did not disclose a motive for the arson. Earlier Tuesday at about 7:30 a.m., Barnegat Township police and firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire on Waterfall Lane. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. The family dog was rescued and unharmed. A pet bird was unab…
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Archive
48°
