BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ – Two teens who set a discarded Christmas tree on fire which spread to shut down rush hour traffic on the Garden State Parkway, have been charged, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Two juveniles from Brick Township were charged with arson on January 19, 2022, which shut down northbound and southbound traffic near milepost 91 for approximately 10 hours, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
The juveniles’ attorneys opposed the State’s intention to identify them by name in a public disclosure in motions pending before the court in late 2022; those motions were only recently overturned by the court in February 2023, when it decided that juveniles could only be identified by their initials.
I. J., 15, and A.R., 14, were responsible for the arson and various acts of delinquency related to that event.
New Jersey State Police responded to a fire reported along the Garden State Parkway at milepost 91 in Brick Township on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. During the investigation, the State Police Detectives determined that the fire was started within a drainage culvert that runs underneath the Garden State Parkway – from the 91 north entrance ramp to the 91 south exit ramp.
A Christmas tree was intentionally lit on fire inside a drainage ditch, resulting in extensive damage to the area, according to both juveniles, who pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief last year. I.J. and A.R. were sentenced to 60 days in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center as a condition of three years juvenile probation. They were also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.
Both juveniles also received community service orders and were ordered to attend and complete fire setter education programs.