LAKEWOOD – A 25-year-old man has been arrested and charged for Aggravated Arson after deliberately setting his former work place on fire, officials said.
Officers from the Lakewood Township Police Department and Lakewood Township Fire Department were dispatched to a business on Cross Street around 2 a.m. January 19 after receiving notification from the sprinkler system alarm.
Police discovered flames coming from the basement of the building, and firefighters were able to swiftly extinguish the fire.
It was later determined by police that the cause of the fire was incendiary, an unknown person used an open flame to ignite cardboard and paper in the basement. Subsequently, police linked 25-year-old Jorge Euxaque-Ballesteros, of Toms River, to be responsible. Euxaque-Ballesteros was a former employee of the business and was recently terminated from the company.
Euxaque-Ballesteros was charged with Aggravated Arson and Burglary. He was taken into custody, transported to Lakewood Police Headquarters where he was processed, and is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Squad, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, Lakewood Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their cooperative assistance in connection with this investigation.
The charges referenced are merely accusations and the public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
