Hazlet man arrested for string of arson incidents beginning in December
FREEHOLD – A Hazlet man has been charged after authorities said he started multiple fires within the same area over the course of five months, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago and Hazlet Police Chief Robert Mulligan announced Monday.
Albert Caporaso, 49, is charged with seven counts of second-degree aggravated arson and single counts of third-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree resisting arrest, officials said.
On Saturday, December 2, 2023, Hazlet Police and local firefighters responded to a pair of structure fires affecting abandoned homes on South Laurel Avenue in Hazlet, according to officials. It was the first of six such callouts to the same addresses in all, with subsequent fires reported a week later, on Saturday, December 9, and on various dates in each of the next four months.
On the night of Thursday, April 25, while conducting surveillance in the area, Hazlet Police spotted Caporaso attempting to set fire to a storage shed on one of the properties, police said. They arrested him and took him to Monmouth County jail to await a first appearance in Monmouth County Superior Court, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 1.
The prosecutor is urging anyone with additional information about Caporaso’s activities to contact MCPO Detective Michael Donovan III at 800-533-7443 or Hazlet Police Department Detective Russell Surdi at 732-264-0763.
Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; jcalderon@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Hazlet man charged with seven counts of aggravated arson
