Toms River Man Set Fire At Lakewood Business That Fired Him, Prosecutor Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man is accused of trying to burn down a business in Lakewood early Wednesday in retaliation for being fired, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Jorge Euxaque-Ballesteros, 25, has been charged with aggravated arson and burglary in connection with a fire set at a Cross Street business on Wednesday, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Firefighters and police responded to an alert about a sprinkler system alarm about 2 a.m. Wednesday and found a fire in the basement, which Lakewood Fire Company firefighters extinguished, Billhimer said.

Investigators determined someone had used an open flame to set fire to cardboard and paper in the basement and the investigation revealed that Euxaque-Ballesteros was responsible, Billhimer said.

Authorities did not say how recently he had been fired.

Euxaque-Ballesteros was arrested later in the day and is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing, the prosecutor's office said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Squad, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, Lakewood Township Police Department, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their cooperative assistance in connection with this investigation.

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