Morris County Man Charged With Aggravated Arson: Prosecutor

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - A 37-year-old East Hanover man is facing arson and insurance fraud charges for torching a Cedar Street home in East Hanover on Dec. 21, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said.

Gilmar Tejada has been charged with one count of Aggravated Arson, a crime of the second degree and two counts of Insurance Fraud, third degree crimes.

On Dec. 21 fire officials and law enforcement responded to a report of a residential structure fire on Cedar Street in East Hanover. The cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary, police said. The investigation revealed that Tejada had been present on the scene in the immediate time before the fire and no other person had entered the residence, police said.

There were no injuries as a result of this fire.

As the investigation continued, it revealed that insurance documents related to the property were not accurate, police said. Tejada was charged by way of a warrant-complaint, and was lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility pending a first appearance in court, authorities said.

The investigation was conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Arson and Environmental Crimes Unit, Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit and the East Hanover Township Police Department.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office – Arson and Environmental Crimes Unit at 973-285-6200 or the East Hanover Township Police Department at 973-887-0432.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.