Police Allege Lawrence Man Deliberately Set Fire to Neighbor's House

A Lawrence Township man has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to the home of his neighbors, with whom he has had an ongoing dispute, police department spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar confirmed today (Friday, Feb. 17).

He said 59-year-old Jesse Savadge has been charged with aggravated arson, aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Savadge is being held in the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township in lieu of $90,000 bail, he said.

The blaze was set Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, in the 1300 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) at the house directly next-door to the home in which Savadge lives.

The homeowners and their adult children were home at the time when they heard a “popping” sound outside shortly before 6:30 p.m., Edgar said. Looking outside, he said, they discovered fire on the exterior of their house, on the side closest to Savadge’s residence.

Several members of the family are volunteer firefighters in the township. They immediately used a fire department radio to report the blaze and went to work fighting the flames.

Fire apparatus from the Lawrence Road, Slackwood and Lawrenceville volunteer fire companies, township police and a township ambulance crew all responded to the house.

The blaze was extinguished within minutes. While some of the exterior siding was melted, the flames were doused before the fire could spread to the interior of the residence.

Investigators from the township police department and the township fire marshal’s office quickly determined the fire had been deliberately set.

While Edgar would not provide specifics, he said “on-scene investigation” identified Savadge as a suspect in the arson.

Over the years police have responded to several disputes between Savadge and his neighbors, Edgar confirmed.

When police went to Savadge’s home to interview him, Savadge appeared intoxicated and became “confrontational” with officers, Edgar said. He said Savadge was taken into custody after he alleged shoved Officer Marc Caponi.

Savadge was charged at that time with aggravated assault and resisting arrest. The aggravated arson charge was added against him following further investigation by police, Edgar said.

New Jersey’s criminal code describes aggravated arson as follows:

A person is guilty of aggravated arson, a crime of the second degree, if he starts a fire or causes an explosion, whether on his own property or another's:

1. Thereby purposely or knowingly placing another person in danger of death or bodily injury; or
2. With the purpose of destroying a building or structure of another; or
3. With the purpose of collecting insurance for the destruction or damage to such property under circumstances which recklessly place any other person in danger of death or bodily injury; or
4. With the purpose of destroying or damaging a structure in order to exempt the structure, completely or partially, from the provisions of any State, county or local zoning, planning or building law, regulation, ordinance or enactment under circumstances which recklessly place any other person in danger of death or bodily injury; or
5. With the purpose of destroying or damaging any forest.