A Lakewood man is facing multiple arson charges following a series of fires that broke out Saturday night, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
On Sunday, Israel Salgado-Miron, 39, of Lakewood, was charged with Aggravated Arson and two counts of Arson in connection with three separate incidents that occurred the night before.
The investigation began at approximately 10:30 p.m., when Lakewood Police and Fire Departments responded to a reported structure fire on East Eighth Street. First responders arrived to find flames burning in a basement window well of the home.
As crews were working at the scene, emergency personnel soon located two additional brush fires along nearby railroad tracks. Firefighters were able to extinguish all three fires before they spread further.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit–Arson Squad, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Lakewood Police Department Detective Bureau, and the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office determined that all three fires had been intentionally set. Investigators concluded that the East Eighth Street fire originated in the basement window well and was ignited by an open flame applied to combustible materials. The two brush fires were also determined to be incendiary, sparked by a hot set applied to a jackpot of fuel.
Further investigative work led detectives to identify Salgado-Miron as the individual responsible for setting each of the fires. He was taken into custody and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held pending a detention hearing.
Is he also an illegal?
Doesn’t matter. He’s still your father.