Toms River Man Whose Dog Died In Icy River Linked To Massive Keyport Fire: Official

By CARLY BALDWIN and KAREN WALL (Patch Staff)

The Toms River man whose dog died in the icy Toms River last March was working without permits on the roof of a Keyport building just before a massive fire broke out and destroyed it, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office has confirmed.

Andrew Mayer, 28, of Toms River, was arrested Tuesday and charged with working without a permit, working without a license and driving without a license, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Mayer was performing roofing work at 43 West Front Street just before it erupted into a massive fire, Webster said. Investigators learned about Mayer when witnesses told them a man had been seen doing work on the roof just prior to the fire breaking out, he said.

"No determination has been made about the cause of the fire," Webster said. "The investigation ... remains active and ongoing."

The fire destroyed several buildings, leaving four families homeless and injuring 42 people, including eight firefighters, officials said. Three pet cats were killed in the fire, which burned for several hours and destroyed businesses. The total damage has been estimated at more than $600,000, Keyport officials said.

Webster confirmed Mayer is the man whose dog, Rolo, died when Mayer's pickup truck broke through the ice on the Toms River in March 2015, when Mayer drove onto the river in the middle of the night.

The March 1 incident prompted a massive search-and-rescue effort, after police who were called by a resident saw the pickup truck's lights disappear after seeing the truck doing donuts on the ice, authorities said at the time. The New Jersey State Police marine unit and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, along with dozens of other first responders, searched for the truck for several hours before Mayer alerted Toms River police that he was safely ashore, authorities said.

Mayer, who faces a third-degree charge of criminal mischief and a third-degree charge of animal cruelty -- due to Rolo's death in the river -- is scheduled for status conference in that case on Monday in the Ocean County Courthouse, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Mayer, who initially told authorities he would represent himself in the case, finally agreed in January to hire a defense attorney, Bradley Billhimer, to represent him in the Toms River case. The third-degree charges carry the possibility of a jail sentence.

Webster said the charges Mayer is facing in the Keyport fire are all disorderly persons offenses. Mayer was released on his own recognizance.