Month: April 2025

Authorities confirmed on Thursday that a 19-year-old man from Ocean Township, New Jersey, has been charged in connection with a wildfire that erupted Tuesday and spread rapidly across more than 15,000 acres.  In a statement released jointly by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean Township Police Department, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, officials announced that Joseph Kling has been taken into custody and placed in the Ocean County Jail. He faces charges of aggravated arson and arson and is awaiting a detention hearing.

Authorities allege that Kling is responsible for igniting the fire, which tore through large areas of Waretown and Lacey townships and resulted in the destruction of a commercial property. Investigators say the blaze began after Kling allegedly built a bonfire using wooden pallets and then left the area before ensuring the fire was out, leading to his arrest on charges of arson and aggravated arson. The flames were initially discovered in the Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, part of the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust.

The wildfire in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens—a sprawling forest region spanning more than 1 million acres and roughly the size of the Grand Canyon — was sparked by an abandoned bonfire and has continued to spread, prompting air quality alerts as far as New York City. According to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, the wildfire remained only 50% contained as of 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday. The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday that smoke would likely linger and emergency crews would remain on the scene for several days.

The fire has consumed over 23 square miles of land, making it one of the largest wildfires the state has seen in nearly 20 years, with firefighters battling tough conditions, including dry air and the effects of a prolonged drought. New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the U.S., and officials have warned that residential areas nearby could be at risk. No injuries or fatalities have been reported, with approximately 5,000 residents evacuated at one point but were allowed to return on Wednesday.

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Robert Crimo III, the gunman who killed seven people and injured dozens in a mass shooting during a parade in Highland Park, Illinois on July 4, 2022, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday.

Judge Victoria A. Rossetti announced on Thursday that Crimo was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences along with 50 years in prison for each person injured. As she handed down the maximum sentence, Rossetti said: “The court finds he’s irrevocably depraved. He is beyond any rehabilitation .. This court hopes this sentence brings a sense of justice and an end to the continued horror.” Life without the possibility of parole is the most severe punishment Crimo faced, as Illinois doesn’t have capital punishment.

The seven people killed by Crimo were Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35. Cooper Roberts, then 8, was shot and paralyzed.

Crimo, 24, was a no-show in court Thursday and declined to make a statement to the court, per his lawyer. The shooter’s parents, who have attended most court proceedings, were also not present. Crimo pleaded guilty last month to charges in the mass shooting that wounded nearly 50 more people in addition to the seven deaths.

The sentencing hearing, which began Wednesday and finished Thursday morning, included testimony from multiple survivors and relatives of those killed in the shooting at the Independence Day parade. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said: “In the middle of that joy, in the middle of that celebration, 83 shots rang out over 40 seconds. Eighty-three attempts to hurt people, do as much damage as possible. Eighty-three attempts to kill. Eighty-three attempts to reduce light in the world. He intended to end the happiness he saw around him … I cannot attempt to rein in the pain, ocean of grief, trauma, heartache and loss.”

Prosecutors say that Crimo told police he wore women’s clothing during the shooting and used makeup to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd during the chaos. He was apprehended hours after the shooting, and confessed.  Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty last year to reckless conduct, admitting to signing the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son to apply for gun ownership. At the time, Illinois at the time required people ages 18, 19 or 20 to have parent or guardian authorization; and Crimo III was 19 and too young to get a FOID card on his own.

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