Man Carved Antisemitic Messages, Set Fire To Home In Manchester, Prosecutor Says

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Toms River man is accused of carving antisemitic messages inside a house under construction and then setting it on fire, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Dalin J. Brown, 24, of Toms River, was charged with aggravated arson, burglary, bias intimidation, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass, in the incidents at home on 12th Avenue on Sunday, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Police were called to the home at 9:55 a.m. Monday for a report of a burglary and the officers saw an extinguished fire in the living room, the prosecutor's office said.

They also saw antisemitic carvings on the interior door and walls, the prosecutor's office said.

The house was unoccupied at the time.

Investigators determined the fire, along the south wall of the living room, was caused by someone setting fire to available combustibles, the prosecutor's office said.

Detectives later identified Brown as the person responsible for breaking into the home, starting the fire, and carving the antisemitic messages on the door and walls, the prosecutor's office said.

Brown was arrested at Manchester Township Police Headquarters without incident and is being held at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River pending a detention hearing.

The prosecutor's office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Manchester police, the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated.