Man Accused Of Toms River Arson At Acquaintance's Home Indicted

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Monmouth County man has been indicted on charges of attempted murder and arson in connection with an April fire set at a Toms River home with two people inside the house, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato announced Friday.

Kenneth P. Lyons, 36, of Ocean Township in Monmouth County, was indicted on seven counts in connection with the April 7 fire at a home on Castro Grove Road, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

They include two counts of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated arson and one count of arson, according to the indictment.

Authorities allege Lyons went to the home in the early hours of April 7 and set fire to the home and a Hyundai Sonata parked outside.

Police and fire units responded to the fire at 1:30 a.m. and firefighters from the Silverton, Pleasant Plains, and East Dover fire companies responded and extinguished both fires.

The occupants of the home were unharmed.

Toms River officers, noting suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, immediately secured the scene and notified fire investigation personnel to respond, Della Fave said. Toms River Police Detective Andrew Chencharik, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Detective Thomas Haskell Jr., and Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention Officer Dominick Roselli investigated along with sheriff’s Detectives Jordan Toscano and Jillian Marin.

Lyons, who is an aquaintance of one of the people inside the home at the time of the fire, was identified as a suspect and the public's help was sought in trying to locate him. He was arrested in late April after someone notified U.S. Marshals that he was hiding at a home in Hartwell, Georgia, according to an Asbury Park Press report.

Lyons remains in the Ocean County Jail. The case is being prosecuted by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Bridget Coughlin.

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Kenneth Paul Lyons photo via Ocean County Corrections Department