Attorney makes plea for 'good student' charged with arson in 4-alarm Jersey City blaze
Three homes were damaged in a fire on Wegman Park on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. Joe Shine | For The Jersey Journal
Caitlin Mota | The Jersey Journal
By Caitlin Mota | The Jersey Journal
on September 20, 2016 at 3:46 PM, updated September 20, 2016 at 3:48 PM
JERSEY CITY, NJ -- A court appointed attorney pleaded with a judge Tuesday afternoon to lower bail for the 19-year-old charged with setting fire to a row of homes on Wegman Parkway.
Matthew Nathan is charged with breaking into 98 Wegman Parkway on Sunday morning and setting two bags of his clothing on fire. Officials said Nathan was recently evicted from the first-floor apartment.
The 19-year-old was being held on a $75,000 cash-only bail before he made his first court appearance. Nathan's attorney, Chris Godin, asked that bail be set at the bottom of the guidelines -- $35,000 cash or bond -- so the "good student" could return to school.
Godin said Nathan is a second-year psychology major at New Jersey City University, less than a mile away from where the 4-alarm blaze occurred. The attorney said Nathan attends the school on a full scholarship.
A spokesperson from NJCU could not immediately confirm Nathan's enrollment status at the school.
Was 4-alarm blaze in Jersey City intentionally set?
A four-alarm blaze ripped through a row of houses early Sunday morning on Wegman Parkway, destroying decades of memories for the families that lived in the homes.
Sunday morning's blaze quickly spread to two neighboring homes. Residents at the scene hours after the fire erupted suspected arson from the beginning.
Judge Ramy Eid said he felt the state was being fair by asking for bail to be set at $50,000 cash or bond. Godin asked if a 10 percent cash option could be applied, but that was rejected by Eid.
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Evicted teen started fire that destroyed 3 Jersey City buildings, authorities say
Caitlin Mota | The Jersey Journal
By Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal
on September 19, 2016 at 7:59 PM, updated September 20, 2016 at 8:17 AM
JERSEY CITY, NJ -- A 19-year-old man has been charged with setting fire to a his former home on Wegman Parkway, sparking a blaze that destroyed three buildings, injured four firefighters and displaced 20 residents yesterday.
Officials say Matthew J. Nathan, who had been evicted from his apartment at 98 Wegman Parkway, broke into the unit using a ladder and set two bags of clothing on fire at about 3 a.m. He then escaped the fire, which reached a fourth alarm, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said today.
Nathan was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Sunday and has been charged with aggravated arson, causing a risk of widespread injury, criminal mischief and failing to report a fire, the criminal complaint says.
Was 4-alarm blaze in Jersey City intentionally set?
A four-alarm blaze ripped through a row of houses early Sunday morning on Wegman Parkway, destroying decades of memories for the families that lived in the homes.
The complaint alleges Nathan purposely or knowingly placed the entire family living on the building's second floor in danger of death or serious bodily injury.
Nathan, whose bail was set at $75,000 cash or bond, has been remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny and is expected to make his first court appearance on the charges tomorrow.
Arson investigators and residents quickly had their suspicions Sunday about the cause of the fire that ripped through the row of buildings at the corner of Ocean Avenue.
A 27-year-old Myrtle Avenue man, who asked that his name not be published, was standing outside of his step-mother's home that has been owned by the family for over 60 years. He said arson investigators told his family the fire appears to have been intentionally set.