By: Tracie Carter
A Bronx, New York man accused of using Molotov cocktails to ignite fires outside a South Toms River home will remain behind bars while his case moves through the New Jersey court system.
According to information released by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill ruled on Tuesday, July 28, that 42-year-old Tashaun Normand should remain detained at the Ocean County Jail pending the outcome of his case.
Normand is charged with two counts of aggravated arson and two counts of possession of destructive devices.
The charges stem from an incident on March 23, 2026, when South Toms River police officers and firefighters from the Manitou Park Fire Company responded to a residence on Belmont Drive after receiving reports of a vehicle fire.
Investigators said first responders discovered flames inside a 2010 GMC Terrain, along with a second fire burning in a grassy area next to the home.
While working the scene, authorities recovered a broken glass bottle and another bottle containing an unknown liquid with a cloth wick, evidence investigators determined was consistent with a Molotov cocktail.
A multi-agency investigation involving the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, the South Toms River Police Department Detective Bureau, the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit concluded that the vehicle fire had been intentionally set.
Authorities allege Normand constructed and threw the incendiary devices toward the vehicle and in the direction of the residence.
Following the investigation, Normand was located and arrested without incident by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Monroe County, Tennessee, on March 30 after authorities learned he had left New Jersey.
He was extradited to New Jersey on July 21 and has remained lodged in the Ocean County Jail since his return.