35-Year-Old Manchester Man Admits Guilt In Neighborhood Hate & Arson Crime Spree
Sunday, June 23, 2024, 11:00 A.M. ET. By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ.- A 35-year-old Manchester Township, New Jersey man will face spending the next 7 years in New Jersey State Prison following pleading guilty on Thursday, June 20, 2024, in connection with an antisemitic crime spree that occurred in June 2023, that left 14 homes damaged.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, on Thursday, Ron Carr, 35, of Manchester Township, New Jersey appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and pleaded guilty before the Honorable Guy P. Ryan, to a charge of Arson; Bias Intimidation; two counts of Criminal Mischief.
In return for the guilty plea, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office will recommend that Carr be sentenced to a 7-year term on the arson charge, a 5-year term on the bias intimidation charge, and 18-month terms for both criminal mischief charges. The sentences are to run concurrently with each other. Sentencing in the matter has been scheduled for August 16, 2024.
The guilty plea stems from an investigation that unfolded on June 6, 2023, when at around 11:45 p.m., members of the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the area of Pine Lake Park after receiving multiple reports of vandalism to residential homes. Upon arrival, Police Officers discovered that 14 homes had been vandalized with spray paint with some of the homes being painted with Nazi symbols. Residents were able to give a description of the suspect who was believed to be responsible for spray painting the homes.
On June 7, 2023, shortly after 3:00 a.m., Manchester Township Police Officers were again dispatched to Pine Lake Park, following receiving a report of a house fire. Upon arrival, Police Officers and Fire Personnel found a fully engulfed house on fire, the house was completely destroyed in the fire and three other additional homes were damaged by heat, and the fire spread to a nearby wooded area. No one was injured in the fire.
While on the scene, Police Officers received reports of a suspicious person walking in the area of the fire. The person matched the description of the earlier reported vandalism incidents.
A short time later while Police Officers were searching the area, Officers located the suspect, later identified as Carr in the area of Commonwealth Boulevard and Larchmont Street. Following talking with Police Officers, Carr was taken into custody without incident.
The subsequent investigation determined that Carr was the individual responsible for the vandalism to the 14 homes on June 6, 2024, and for setting the fire that destroyed the home on June 7, 2024. Carr was formally charged and transported to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, New Jersey where has remained incarcerated since his June 7, 2024, arrest.
