Video shows suspect 'on fire running' from scene of deadly arson

PEMBERTON BOROUGH – A man accused of setting a fatal fire here had vowed to kill the victim of the blaze, a court record claims.

Newlin Evans 4th allegedly made the threat four days before a fire that took the life of Camryn Powell, a 22-year-old borough man described as Evans’ romantic rival.

A woman involved in relationships with each man told investigators Evans told her during an April 16 argument that “if she ever got back with Camryn Powell, he … was going to kill Camryn,” alleges a statement offering probable cause for his arrest.

The woman broke up with Evans the next day, then “rekindled her relationship” with Powell, with whom she had a five-month-old son, the statement adds.

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Powell died in an early morning fire on April 20 at an Egbert Street apartment complex.

A surveillance camera on the nearby municipal building "showed a flame and then large fire” on the side of the building around 5:45 a.m., the statement says.

It says the fire continued as a person “is observed on fire running from the scene."

The statement also alleges Evans, also 22, bought a gas can and $10 worth of gasoline from an unidentified retailer around 3:30 a.m. on April 20.

And it quotes a witness as telling police that “Newlin loved lighting stuff on fire and was always lighting things on fire."

The April 20 blaze also injured two of Powell’s family members, who were taken to a burn unit in Philadelphia. It displaced multiple tenants from the apartment building.

Evans was transported to another burn unit in Philadelphia after seeking help later in the morning from an unidentified person in Mansfield, the statement says. That person called police, the statement says.

It alleges Evans explained his burns by saying he had gone to Powell’s apartment to retrieve a phone, and that Powell had thrown gasoline at him and ignited it.

The probable cause statement says the blaze began in Powell’s bedroom, where an arson dog "alerted on multiple locations outside the window, the sill, (and) the exterior brick wall.”

Investigators also recovered “a sweatshirt and socks saturated with an odor consistent with an ignitable liquid,” it says.

In addition, the arson dog reacted to a Milwaukee-brand utility knife that was found in an alley outside the window, and that might have been used to cut a screen window.

Milwaukee-brand tools also were found during a search of Evans’ car, the statement adds.

Evans, a resident of a motel in Burlington Township, is in custody in Philadelphia, pending a hearing on extradition to New Jersey.

He is charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and causing or risking widespread injury or damage.

The charges are only allegations. Evans has not been convicted in the case.

Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

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This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Newlin Evans 4th allegedly vowed to kill victim of Pemberton fire