Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on April 28, 2025, Ethan Salter, 20, of Little Egg Harbor Township, pled guilty to Creating a False Public Alarm before the Honorable Dina M. Vicari, J.S.C., in connection with an incident that occurred in Little Egg Harbor Township on December 2, 2023. Additionally, Salter pled guilty to Aggravated Arson in connection with a structure fire that also occurred in Little Egg Harbor on January 8, 2024. At the time of his sentencing on June 13, 2025, the State will be seeking a term of three years New Jersey State Prison as to each charge. The sentences are to run concurrently.
On December 2, 2023, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Officers from the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department were dispatched to the Walmart store for a report of a bomb threat. For safety reasons, the store was evacuated. A search of the premises by the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit determined that the threat was not credible. An investigation by Little Egg Harbor Township Police determined that the threat had been broadcast over the in-store handheld radios utilized by store employees. Further investigation revealed that Salter, a former employee of the store, had stolen a radio and utilized it to make the threat. On December 5, 2024, Salter was taken into custody at his residence without incident. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
On January 8, 2024, at approximately 3:19 a.m., the Little Egg Harbor Township Police and Fire Departments were dispatched to a report of a structure fire on National Union Boulevard. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau, determined that the fire originated in the living room of the structure; the cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary by an unknown person or persons utilizing an open flame to ignitable liquid.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, and Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau, revealed that Salter and Thomas Lester, 21, of Tuckerton, were the individuals responsible for setting the fire. On March 7, 2024, both men were charged accordingly, and taken into custody without incident at their respective residences by Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad and Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau. They were transported to the Ocean County Jail, where Salter presently remains lodged. Lester was released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform; the charges against Lester remain pending.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the diligent efforts of Assistant Prosecutor Julie Peterson who is handling the case on behalf of the State, and commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department, Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, and Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, for their combined and cooperative efforts in connection with these investigations leading to Salter’s guilty pleas – and soon his state prison sentence.