LITTLE EGG HARBOR – A 24-year-old township man was charged after authorities said a fire was intentionally set outside a home.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said John Algor Jr., of Little Egg Harbor, was charged July 2 with aggravated arson, possession of a destructive device and hindering apprehension in connection with the July 1 incident.
Police and firefighters were called to a home on Oneida Lake Drive at about 11:30 p.m. om July 1 for a report of a structure fire, authorities said. When first responders arrived, they found that the homeowner had already put out the fire using a garden hose.
Investigators from 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 determined that the fire started at the northwest corner of the home’s front porch, Billhimer said.
Authorities said the fire was intentionally set using an open flame and combustible material soaked in an ignitable liquid that had been placed inside a glass container.
Investigators said a person arrived at the home on a motorcycle, set an object on fire and threw it at the residence before leaving the area. The investigation later identified Algor as the suspect, authorities said.
On July 2, detectives from the prosecutor’s office and Little Egg Harbor police went to Algor’s home, where they found a motorcycle covered by a tarp with its license plates removed, Billhimer said.
Algor was arrested without incident and taken to the Ocean County Jail, where he was being held pending a detention hearing.
Billhimer credited the prosecutor’s arson squad, Little Egg Harbor police, the sheriff’s crime scene investigation unit and the county fire marshal’s office for their work on the case.
The charges are accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
