NJ wildfire suspect may be a scapegoat for local teens’ wild bonfire weekends

🔥 Joseph Kling, 19, was charged with arson in the Jones Road Wildfire

🔥 His attorney says Kling adamantly denies setting the fire

🔥 Other people were at the bonfire that led to the wildfire, Kling's attorney says

The attorney for the teen charged with arson in the massive Jones Road Wildfire says his client was one of over three dozen teens at the bonfire that consumed over 24 square acres of forest in Ocean County.

Joseph Kling, 19, was charged with aggravated arson and arson and is being held at the Ocean County Jail awaiting a detention hearing scheduled for Friday.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said Kling stacked wooden pallets on the fire and then left without the fire being fully extinguished. The cause of the fire was determined to be "incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire."

Attorney Joseph J. Compitello told New Jersey 101.5 that Kling was present at the bonfire inside the Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area along Jones Road on April 22 but did not light it.

"He was adamant that he did not light this fire and actually identified individuals. I'm not going to disclose them on the air, but he was very clear that he did not light this bonfire. Additionally, it was fairly common knowledge that in this circumstance, this wasn't just him and two people. I mean, there were four or five carloads of individuals at this bonfire," Compitello said.

Compitello said it is a southern Ocean County tradition for teens to get together at bonfires in the woods to hang out and compared it to house parties back in day for parents.

ALSO READ: 'Why did he do it?' NJ wildfire suspect seen in old bonfire video

From bonfire to disaster

The fire was first noticed the morning of April 22 by the NJ Forest Fire Service.

"I've received different reports as to when this began and how it happened in different timelines. But I think once this gets flushed out, we'll have a better idea," Compitello said. "There's a lot of people there, so I think the truth is going to come out sooner rather than later."

Suspect was victim of bullying

Compitello confirmed that Kling, a senior at an Ocean County Vocational Technical High School, has been targeted by a group of individuals for bullying from classmates and former classmates. A video surfaced on social media showing a group tormenting Kling at a fire in November.

"Bullying, teasing, potentially even scapegoating. Whether or not that occurred in this case, that's something that's my job to explore going forward. But I don't think anybody is going to sit here and will come out and say that Joseph Kling was not bullied. It's just a matter of whether or not there's a nexus between the bullying in November and what happened here," Compitello said.

Ocean County teenagers Emma Chabot and Addyson Smith told Inside Edition that Kling is considered a loner. They said bonfire parties happen every weekend, including the past weekend, as firefighters continued to work at the Jones Road Wildfire  If police show up, the teens will scatter and not put out the fire, Chabot said.

The Jones River Wildfire is 75% contained and has burned over 24 square miles (13,500 acres) as of Wednesday morning, according to the NJ Forest Fire Service.

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