Hackensack Homeless Man Charged For September 19, 2024, Truck Fires
Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 6:15 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HACKENSACK, NJ.- A 26-year-old homeless man and formerly of Hackensack, New Jersey, wanted in connection with the September 19, 2024, fire that destroyed two vehicles owned by Bergen County, was apprehended on Friday, September 27, 2024, and formally charged with arson and related offenses.
According To The Prosecutor’s Office
According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at around 12:30 a.m., members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Hackensack Police Department, and the Hackensack Police Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the parking lot of Bergen Academies located on Hackensack Avenue in Hackensack.
Upon arrival, Police Officers and Firefighters discovered two vehicles fully engulfed in flames. After extinguishing the fire, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Squad was notified and responded to the scene. Detectives of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bergen County Arson Task Force, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the fire.
During the ensuing investigation, Detectives of the Arson Squad determined that the fire was intentionally set in a locked, parked Ford F350 pickup truck owned by the County of Bergen. The fire quickly spread to another pickup truck parked next to the Ford F350., also owned by the County of Bergen.
Detectives Identify Suspect
Further investigation revealed that Patrick A. Fearon walked up to the Ford F350 pickup truck parked in the lot, smashed the driver’s side window of the pickup, set the truck on fire using an accelerant, and then ran from the scene.
Accordingly, following the investigation, on Friday, September 20, 2024, Fearon was formally charged with second-degree Aggravated Arson; two counts of third-degree Arson; third-degree Criminal Mischief; third-degree Burglary; and fourth-degree Failure to Control or Report a Dangerous Fire and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
For the next seven days, Bergen County authorities searched relentlessly for Fearon, whose whereabouts were unknown. However, during the afternoon of Friday, September 27, 2024, Fearon was located and taken into custody without incident in Teaneck, New Jersey.
Fearon was processed on the charges and was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending future court proceedings in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
