KEANSBURG - A Sunday night house fire here is traced to the man who, authorities say, also looted it the same night.

Flickr User Tex Texin
Flickr User Tex Texin
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Eriberto R. Valentin, 55, of Keansburg, is charged with aggravated arson and burglary, according to the office of Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

Valentin was held on $75,000 bail in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold, given no option for release on payment of 10 percent, and ordered to refrain from contact with the victims, by Judge Richard W. English.

According to authorities, inhabitants of the Pineview Avenue home returned to it and found an intruder, later identified as Valentin, inside. They discovered the fire after he fled, authorities said. Patrol officers tamped out the flames.

If convicted of the second-degree arson charge, Valentin would risk five to 10 years in prison, and would be required to serve 85 percent of the sentence under New Jersey's No Early Release Act (NERA). He would also face up to three years of parole supervision.

The third-degree burglary charge is punishable by three to five years in prison upon conviction.

County sources did not reveal whether Valentine has legal representation. The County's case is headed by Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.

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