MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ – Investigators have arrested a 77-year-old Whiting man accused of setting multiple dumpster fires across Manchester Township between January and April of this year.
Nicholas Depalma, 77, was charged with four counts of aggravated arson on Wednesday.
Depalma was found responsible for setting five separate dumpster fires in Manchester Township between January 1, 2022 and April 26, 2022, according to an investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad and Manchester Township Police Department. One of the fires was set near a large wooded area and four of the fires were set near structures that were damaged.
Depalma surrendered himself to the Manchester Township Police Headquarters on Wednesday, where he was processed and released on a summons, as a result of bail reform, pending a future appearance in Ocean County Superior Court.