Southern Ocean Man Set House Ablaze: Prosecutor

LITTLE EGG HARBOR, NJ — A 24-year-old Little Egg Harbor Township man has been charged in connection with a structure fire reported late July 1 at a home on Oneida Lake Drive, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.

Billhimer announced that John Algor, Jr., of Little Egg Harbor Township, was charged July 2 with aggravated arson, possession of a destructive device and hindering apprehension.

Little Egg Harbor Police and Fire Departments were dispatched at about 11:30 p.m. to a residence on Oneida Lake Drive for a report of a structure fire, according to the prosecutor's office. First responders determined that the homeowner had extinguished the fire with a garden hose.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Little Egg Harbor Police Department Detective Bureau, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit and Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office found that the fire started at the northwest corner of the front porch of the residence, according to the announcement. The cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary by an unknown person using an open flame and available combustibles, specifically combustible material soaked in an ignitable liquid and placed in a glass container.

The investigation further revealed that an individual arrived at the residence on a motorcycle, lit an object on fire and threw the object at the residence before leaving the scene, according to the prosecutor's office. Continuing investigation identified that individual as Algor.

On July 2, detectives from the prosecutor’s office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad and the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department arrived at Algor’s residence, where they discovered a motorcycle with its license plates removed and covered by a tarp, according to the announcement. Algor was taken into custody at the residence without incident.

He was then transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held pending a detention hearing, according to Billhimer.