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Manchester Township man sentenced to 7 years in New Jersey state prison for bias intimidation, property damage and arson – MidJersey.News

17 August 2024

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on August 16, 2024, the Honorable Guy P. Ryan, PJCr.P., sentenced Ron Carr, 35, of Manchester Township, to seven years in the New Jersey State Penitentiary (NJSP) as a result of his previously entered guilty plea to arson in connection with incidents that occurred in Manchester Township on June 6, 2023, during the early morning hours of hours of June 7, 2023. In addition, Judge Ryan sentenced Carr to five years of NJSP based on his previously entered guilty plea to bias-related intimidation and to 18 months of NJSP in connection with his previously entered guilty pleas to two counts of criminal damage to property – all related to the same series of incidents that occurred between June 6 and June 7, 2023. The sentences will run concurrently. Carr pleaded guilty to all counts before Judge Ryan on June 20, 2024.

On June 6, 2023, at approximately 11:45 p.m., officers with the Manchester Township Police Department responded to reports of vandalism at residences in the Pine Lake Park area. Officers discovered that 14 homes had been spray painted – some with Nazi symbols. Officers received a description of the suspect believed to be responsible for the vandalism.

On June 7, 2023, at approximately 3:11 a.m., Manchester Township Police officers were again called to the Pine Lake Park area for a report of a structure fire. The structure – a home – was destroyed in the fire; three other homes sustained heat damage and the flames spread to the adjacent wooded area. No injuries were reported.

Responding officers received reports of a person walking near the fire. This person matched the description of the suspect in previously reported vandalism cases. A short time later, officers located the suspect, later identified as Carr, in the area of ​​Commonwealth Boulevard and Larchmont Street. He was taken into custody without incident. Further investigation determined that Carr was responsible for the vandalism of the homes on June 6 and the arson that destroyed the building on June 7. Carr was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been housed since his arrest.

Attorney Billhimer acknowledges the diligent efforts of Senior Assistant State's Attorney Ashley Angelo and New Jersey Assistant Attorney General Valerie Butler, who handled the case on behalf of the State, and commends the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Arson Unit, the Discrimination Crimes Unit, the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice General Crimes Bureau, the Manchester Township Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation, which has resulted in Carr's guilty pleas and now his prison sentence.

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

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