Man gets 3 years in jail for setting victim on fire
Twp. man pleads guilty to igniting New York resident at party

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - A township resident has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lighting a New York man on fire at a party.

On July 15, state Superior Court Judge Edward M. Neafsey, sitting in Freehold, sentenced Nicholas Winter, 21, of Ocean Township to the three-year prison term after Winter struck a plea agreement with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, according to a press release from the Prosecutor's Office.

Under the terms of the agreement, Winter pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated assault and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon in the attack, according to authorities.

Winter will also be subject to the No Early Release Act, which calls for Winter to serve 85 percent of his sentence, or approximately two years, six months and 20 days, before he will be eligible for parole.

Winter was arrested in 2006 in connection with the assault of a Long Island, N.Y., man at a party in Allenhurst, according to police reports.

On June 9, 2006, at approximately 12:45 a.m., members of the Allenhurst Police Department and First Aid Squad received a 911 call indicating that a man had been set on fire during a party at a Corlies Avenue home, according to reports.

When police and first aid personnel arrived at the home, the 19-year-old victim was seen running from the rear of house where the attack occurred and then began pacing in front of the home.

The victim was transported to the Burn Unit at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where he was treated for second degree burns on his neck and upper left shoulder. The burns caused considerable scarring, authorities said.

"Winter, without provocation or justification, lit a 19-year-old man on fire," Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said. "In doing so, he demonstrated complete indifference to the victim's safety and well-being.

"This significant period of incarceration appropriately punishes Winter's extremely reckless conduct," Valentin added.

A joint investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Allenhurst Police Department revealed that Winter poured approximately half of a 750-ml. bottle of grain alcohol on the victim, according to reports.

Immediately after pouring the alcohol on the victim, Winter removed a cigarette lighter from his pocket and ignited it next to the victim, causing the highly flammable alcohol to catch fire, authorities said.

Winter fled the scene after the incident and was later apprehended at his family's home, according to police reports.