NJ Man Gets 8 Years In Jail For Setting Fire To Somerset Co. Home

NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — A Somerset County man was sentenced to 8 years in jail for setting fire that ended up damaging three homes and displacing two families.

Jonathan Davies, now 27, of North Plainfield was sentenced before Somerset County Superior Judge Peter Tober on Monday on the second-degree charge of aggravated arson. He had also pleaded guilty in October to third-degree aggravated assault, which he will serve concurrently to the second-degree charge.

Davies had been seen in the area of the vacant home on Maple Avenue, which was currently under construction, when the three-alarm fire was set on May 27, 2020, at about 2:40 a.m., Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said. Read More: 'Suspicious' Fire Damages 3 Homes In North Plainfield: Police

An investigation also found that Davies was seen watching the fire erupt and leaving and re-entering the property multiple times, Robertson said.

All of the residents in the homes were uninjured. One firefighter sustained minor injuries.

Three homes were damaged, and two families were displaced as a result including Green Brook local Mike Carroccia and his fiancé Taylor Miller who were just starting off their lives together when their North Plainfield home-to-be went up in flames. Read More: Engaged Couple Will Rebuild After N. Plainfield Home Burned Down

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