Egg Harbor man goes to prison for setting fire to Lakewood home with three people inside
TOMS RIVER - An Atlantic County man was sentenced to seven years in state prison on Friday for setting fire to a home in Lakewood as three people were inside, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
Jamal Preston, 27, of Egg Harbor Township, must serve at least 85% — almost six years — of the sentence under the state’s No Early Release Act before he is eligible for parole, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Preston pleaded guilty in January to the charge of aggravated arson at which time he admitted that on Aug. 22, 2020, he intentionally set fire to the residence using an “ignitable liquid and an open flame.” No one was hurt in the subsequent blaze, but investigators concluded that Preston was trying to destroy the home.
The Prosecutor’s Office has not released the address of the former crime scene or the relationship between Preston and his three victims.
How it began: Atlantic County man indicted in Lakewood arson case, officials say
After Preston set the fire, he fled the scene but was arrested at an Absecon motel by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service on Aug. 31, 2020. Preston was then turned over to the custody of the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, where he has remained incarcerated since his capture.
Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan also ordered on Friday that Preston serve a concurrent sentence of 18 months for unlawful possession of a weapon. That unrelated charge from the fire stems from an incident in Berkeley two days before the more serious crime, in which Preston was found to have been in possession of a knife at the time, according to the Prosecutor’s Office. Preston pleaded guilty to both charges on Jan. 13.
Related: Atlantic County man admits to setting fire to Lakewood home with three people inside
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill supervised the case on behalf of the state of New Jersey.
The Arson Squad of the Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, its High Tech Crime Unit, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigations Unit, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s K-9 Unit, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Lakewood, Egg Harbor, Berkeley and South Toms River police departments, all contributed to Preston’s prosecution, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lakewood NJ fire: Atlantic County man sentenced to 7 years in prison
