Woman Throws Molotov Cocktail At Somerset County Business, Charged With Arson: Prosecutor

BRANCHBURG, NJ — A woman was charged after police said she was caught on video throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Somerset County business, according to Acting Somerset County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart.

Meredith Kaye, 39, of Plain Township, Pennsylvania, was charged with third-degree arson and third-degree attempted arson of a business on Route 202 in Branchburg Township, said Taggart.

On Monday just before 11 p.m., Branchburg Police were called out to the business on a report of a woman, later identified as Kaye, throwing a Molotov cocktail at the building.

Before police arrived, witnesses told them Kaye left the parking lot in a white sedan with Pennsylvania license plates and drove south on Route 202, according to police.

The white sedan was found and stopped on Route 202 with Kaye identified as the driver of the vehicle, said Taggart.

Video surveillance cameras outside of the business showed Kaye get out of the white sedan and walk to the back door of the building. She then went back to her car and drove to the front of the business before throwing a bottle out of the vehicle's window, said Taggart.

Investigating detectives found a broken glass bottle with a burnt paper napkin that had been soaked in alcohol on the ground outside of the building where the bottle had been thrown, according to the report.

Kaye was charged and released on her own recognizance pending an appearance in Somerset County Superior Court.

Anyone with information relating to this incident is asked to contact the Branchburg Township Police Department at 908-526-3830 or via the STOPit app.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

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