A New Jersey man has been arrested and charged with arson after allegedly setting fire to three police cars in Hackensack over the weekend, authorities announced Wednesday.
Jaime Magnelli, 78, is accused of setting fire to the unoccupied vehicles while they were in an municipal overflow parking lot just after 8 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Amid an investigation, detectives learned that Magnelli walked through the parking lot and poured an accelerant on the cop cars before igniting the fire and fleeing the scene, prosecutors said. The cars, parked in the lot at 78 Trinity Place, were very close to a municipal gas pump, as well as the Bergen County Islamic Center.
The Islamic Center was occupied at the time of the incident, but no reported injuries, police said.
Magnelli, also of Hackensack, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with arson, aggravated arson, risk of widespread injury or damage, criminal mischief and failure to control or report a fire.
No additional details about the investigation were released.
Magnelli is being held without bond in the Bergen County Jail pending his first court appearance.
According to online jail records, Magnelli is a Colombian citizen who’s 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, with light skin, gray hair and brown eyes.
