SOUTH TOMS RIVER ― A Bronx man has been charged with targeting a residence in the borough with Molotov cocktails, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer on Tuesday.
Tashaun Normand, 42, has been charged with two counts of aggravated arson and two counts of possession of destructive devices. The charges follow a multi-agency investigation into an incident that occurred on Monday, March 23, Billhimer said.
About 3:15 p.m. on that date, South Toms River Police and the Manitou Park Fire Company were dispatched to a residence on Belmont Drive.
Upon arrival, first responders discovered two separate fires. The interior of a 2010 GMC Terrain was ablaze and a second fire was burning on what the Prosecutor’s Office described as a “grassy area,” adjacent to the home.
While extinguishing the flames, authorities discovered a broken glass bottle and a second intact bottle filled with an unknown liquid and a torn rag inside — evidence investigators identified as Molotov cocktails.
Investigation and arrest
The Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Crime Scene Investigations Division of the Sheriff’s Office and South Toms River Police detectives, determined the fire originated on the SUV’s front windshield. Investigators ruled the cause as incendiary, concluding that Normand was the individual responsible for crafting the devices and throwing them at the vehicle and toward the residence, Billhimer said.
After the incident, prosecutors learned that Normand had left the state. He was arrested one week later, on Monday, March 30, when the Tennessee Highway Patrol took him into custody in Monroe County, Tennessee, without incident.
Normand is currently being detained in the Monroe County Jail in Madisonville, Tennessee, pending extradition back to New Jersey.
A motive for the alleged crimes was not disclosed on Tuesday.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bronx man charged in South Toms River NJ fire; arrested in Tennessee