A 14-year-old Elizabeth juvenile has been charged with arson after reportedly setting a playground area at Mattano Park on fire.
UCPD Patrol units were dispatched to Mattano Park in the City of Elizabeth on a report of a fire in the playground area Monday morning sometime around 8:05 a.m., according to police.
Upon arrival, officers found the Elizabeth Fire Department extinguishing the fire that had been burning the rubberized playground mulch along with a portion of a climbing structure.
A witness provided a description of two subjects that were observed around the fire and as it became larger, ran out of the park.
County Police Corporal Chris Stanaway began to search the area for the subjects along with a
review of the newly installed surveillance camera system was conducted at the same time.
Surveillance cameras capture the incident, along with providing a complete description of the actors.
Cpl. Stanaway patrolling the area of Niles Street and 2nd Avenue, approximately 6 blocks from the incident, located two subjects that matched the description provided and stopped to speak with them.
The subjects were identified as a 14-year-old male juvenile from Elizabeth and an 18-year-old female from Elizabeth.
After further investigation, the juvenile was charged with 2nd degree arson and 3rd degree criminal mischief and remanded to the Union County Juvenile Detention Center pending a Juvenile Court Appearance.