05/02/25
Ocean County Prosecutor's Office charged a second defendant Thursday.
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WARETOWN - Two teenagers charged with setting a wildfire that consumed more than 15,000 acres across Ocean County lied to police, falsely telling them that Mexicans started the blaze, an assistant prosecutor revealed in court Friday.
The second teenage boy was arrested Thursday night in connection with the Jones Road wildfire, first spotted about 9:45 a.m. on April 22, when the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower located a column of smoke coming from the area of Jones Road and Bryant Road in Waretown.
The 17-year-old was charged with aggravated arson and hindering apprehension, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Friday.
Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, arrested April 23 and charged with aggravated arson and arson, has now also been charged with hindering apprehension, a judge revealed in court Friday as Kling faced a detention hearing before her.
Both defendants told police investigating the fire that Mexicans were in the woods when the fire started, Gregory Lenzi, assistant Ocean County prosecutor, told Superior Court Judge Pamela Snyder at the detention hearing.
An examination of phones belonging to both parties, however, revealed a chat between the two "appearing to refute the claim that Mexicans started the fire,'' Lenzi said.
Interviews with two others who were in the woods the night of April 21 told police that only the four of them were present when Kling placed two wooden pallets in a pit with gasoline and a gas-soaked item and lit it on fire, Lenzi said.
One individual identified as J.M. told police that as he rode off into the woods on his dirt bike, he saw Kling throw six more pallets onto the fire, Lenzi said.
J.M. went on to have an accident on the dirt bike, crashing into a tree in the woods that night, Lenzi said.
Police on the scene of the dirt-bike accident encountered Kling, who drove up in a pickup truck with another individual inside, Lenzi said.
Kling, in his haste to leave the bonfire and meet his friend, disposed of the remaining pallets on the fire, Lenzi said.
The others who were at the fire told police Kling had picked up between 10 and 20 pallets outside Sonny's Recycling in Waretown before starting the bonfire, Lenzi said
The continuing investigation into the fire determined the juvenile defendant helped set the wooden pallets on fire and also left the area without the fire being fully extinguished, Billhimer said in announcing the minor's arrest Friday. It was also determined that the juvenile gave misinformation to law enforcement about how the fire started, the prosecutor said.
Kling, when interviewed by police, told them the fire was still burning when he left, Lenzi said.
The investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office plotted
the origin of the fire via GPS, and also determined the cause of the fire to be incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire.
Lenzi said information from the location-sharing service of J.M's cell phone placed Kling about 82 feet away from the point of origin of the fire.
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The New Jersey Forest Fire Service, meanwhile, put out an alert Friday regarding a scam targeting residents of Waretown and Lacey affected by the Jones Road Wildfire.
The service said scammers have been going door to door, claiming they can remove smoke odors from homes in the vicinity of the wildfire. They are charging up to $30,000 for this alleged service, falsely stating that costs will be reimbursed through insurance due to a FEMA disaster declaration and a New Jersey State of Emergency.
There are also reports that they are pressuring residents to sign loan agreements, the fire service said.
"Please be advised: FEMA has not issued a disaster declaration for the Jones Road Wildfire," the fire service said. "Residents are urged to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement if solicited."
apnews.com
. Thanks for holding it down while we gettin ready
Obviously someone or some people are trying to take the land and build it up. That part of Jersey is desolate af too.
