WILDWOOD – A Wildwood resident was charged with arson in a fire in which the suspect was injured.
On Dec. 10, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Chief Joe Murphy of the Wildwood Police Department announced the arrest of Edmir Pepa, age 35, a resident of Wildwood. He was charged with arson and causing widespread injury or damage in a fire Nov. 22.
Both charges are crimes of the second degree.
On Dec. 9, Pepa voluntarily surrendered to the Wildwood Police Department in
response to an issued warrant. He was processed on the above-listed charges and subsequently lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Center.
Officials said the Wildwood Police Department was dispatched on the report of a fire and injured occupant Saturday, Nov. 22. Police arrived and attempted to check a second-floor apartment, but heavy smoke prevented entry until personnel arrived from the Wildwood Fire Department. Fire crews entered the residence and located Pepa, they said. He was removed from the scene, treated, and airlifted to a regional hospital. It was later alleged Pepa was also suffering from self-inflicted lacerations.
Detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Wildwood Police Department, along with personnel from the Cape May County Fire Marshall’s Office conducted an extensive investigation, including the review of surveillance footage, multiple witness interviews, and the execution of a court-authorized search warrant. It was alleged that Pepa set fire to multiple areas inside his apartment putting himself and other tenants inside the multi-dwelling building in danger.
Sutherland and Murphy commended the cooperation and the intensive investigative efforts of all the law enforcement agencies including the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Wildwood Police Department, Wildwood Fire Department and Cape May County Fire Marshall’s Office.
Individuals convicted of second-degree crimes are subject to a term of imprisonment of 5 to 10 years incarceration.