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Both I.J. and A.R. were sentenced to 60 days in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center as a condition of three years probation. They've already served the detention center time, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Additionally, the Court ordered $15,000 in restitution to be split evenly between the juveniles. Finally, both juveniles were ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and attend and complete a firesetter’s education program.
The fire was set on Jan. 19, 2022, and closed the parkway for 10 hours near milepost 91, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Although the charges were resolved in late 2022, the State’s intention to identify the juveniles by name in a subsequent public disclosure was opposed by attorneys for the juveniles in motions pending before the court; those motions were only recently decided by the court in the juveniles’ favor last month, when it was ordered that the juveniles could be identified solely by their initials.
On Jan. 19, 2022, at approximately 5 p.m., New Jersey State Police responded to a report of a fire. During the investigation, State Police Detectives determined that the fire was started within a drainage culvert that runs underneath the Garden State Parkway — from the 91 north entrance ramp to the 91 south exit ramp.
Further investigation revealed that the two juveniles, I. J., 15, and A.R., 14, were responsible for the arson and various acts of delinquency related to that event, Billhimer said.
Late last year, both juveniles pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief, and admitted that a Christmas tree inside the drainage culvert was purposely lit on fire, resulting in extensive damage to the area, the prosecutor said.
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