TOMS RIVER — A New York man has been charged in connection with a pair of fires set near a residence in South Toms River, authorities said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Tashaun Normand, 42, of the Bronx, faces two counts of aggravated arson and two counts of possession of destructive devices stemming from a March 23 incident.
Police and firefighters responded to a home on Belmont Drive at about 3:15 p.m. after receiving a report of a vehicle fire. Responders found flames inside a 2010 GMC Terrain as well as a separate fire burning in a nearby grassy area. Both fires were extinguished without further incident.
At the scene, officers discovered a broken glass bottle and another bottle containing an unidentified liquid with a cloth inserted — items authorities said were consistent with Molotov cocktails.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, along with local and county agencies, determined the fire originated at the vehicle’s front windshield and was intentionally set using an open flame and combustible materials.
Authorities allege Normand constructed the incendiary devices and threw them at the vehicle and toward the residence.
Normand was taken into custody without incident on March 30 in Monroe County, Tennessee, by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. He remains held at the Monroe County Jail pending extradition to New Jersey.
Billhimer credited multiple agencies, including county investigators and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, for their coordinated efforts in the case.
The charges are accusations, and Normand is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
