FREEHOLD – A Keansburg man was arrested and charged with setting a fire to a borough residence Sunday night. The man was captured after setting fire to the property he burglarized prior to the residents returning home, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Eriberto R. Valentin, 55, of Center Avenue in Keansburg, is charged with second degree Aggravated Arson and third degree Burglary. He is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township on $75,000 bail with no option to post ten percent, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English. Judge English also ordered Valentin to have no contact with his victims and not to return to the scene of his alleged crimes.
Valentin is charged with purposefully setting a fire at 34 Pineview Avenue in Keansburg on Sunday. Residents of that address returned home Sunday night to discover a male subject in their home. That man was later identified as Valentin. Shortly after Valentin fled the residence, a fire appeared inside. Responding patrol officers extinguished the flames. An investigation resulted in Valentin’s arrest a short time later.
If convicted of Aggravated Arson, Valentin faces a sentence of five to ten years in prison, subject to the provisions of “No Early Release Act” (NERA) requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. He would also be under parole supervision for three years following his release from state prison.
If convicted of Burglary, Valentin faces a sentence of three to five years in prison.
The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
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