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Correctional officer charged with setting fire to his own SUV

The Gloucester County prosecutor says 26-year-old Devin E. Cooper of Lakehurst turned himself in at the police department

Associated Press

DEPTFORD, N.J. — A New Jersey corrections officer has been charged with arson after authorities say he set fire to his sport utility vehicle in some woods.

The Gloucester County prosecutor says 26-year-old Devin E. Cooper of Lakehurst turned himself in at the police department. Cooper was charged Thursday in the April 17 vehicle fire in Deptford Township. He was released on $25,000 bail.

The prosecutor’s spokesman, Bernie Weisenfeld, says Cooper was still at the scene when officers responded to the fire; he was treated for burns to his face.

Weisenfeld had no details on how the fire was started or on a motive.

Cooper has been working for the corrections department for six years, most recently at a state facility in Bordentown.

There was no telephone number listed for Cooper in Lakehurst.