Manager Torched Morris Co. Warehouse To Cover Thefts, Police Say

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A warehouse manager has been arrested and charged with setting fire to a Morris County facility, allegedly to conceal his theft of valuable copper materials, authorities said.

The arrest of 45-year-old Newark resident Davon Fields was outlined in a release issued Monday afternoon by Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll and Boonton Police Officer-in-Charge Captain Chris Petonak.

Fields was charged with two counts of aggravated arson, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, three counts of burglary, criminal mischief and several other related offenses, according to Carroll.

The charges stem from an incident reported around 8:13 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2024, when Boonton Police and Fire Departments responded to a commercial warehouse fire at 95 Fulton Street.

According to prosecutors, flames were spotted in the warehouse area as well as in a separately secured section leased by a pharmaceutical supply company.

The Boonton Fire Department, with assistance from mutual aid companies from surrounding jurisdictions, quickly extinguished the two-alarm blaze, according to the prosecutor's office.

After the fire was extinguished, investigators discovered evidence suggesting the blaze had been intentionally set, including a strong odor of petroleum and a gasoline canister nozzle, authorities said. Surveillance footage also captured two masked individuals entering the warehouse around the time the fire started, according to prosecutors.

Investigators also discovered that approximately $233,000 worth of copper materials had been stolen from equipment belonging to another company using the warehouse, Carroll said.

Further investigation revealed that in the days leading up to and following the fire, Fields was seen in the vicinity of the warehouse and visited a scrapyard to sell large quantities of copper, prosecutors alleged.

Fields was arrested on Jan. 13 and is currently being held at the Morris County Correctional Facility, awaiting future court proceedings.