According to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, a Morris County Sheriff’s Officer who is also a Parsippany firefighter set two fires in Parsippany. As the article in the Daily Record entitled, “Parsippany Firefighter Jason Campbell charged with arson, burglary”, details, the 32-year old defendant was arrested and charged with purposely setting two fires in Parsippany. The defendant is charged with two counts of second degree aggravated arson, one count of third degree burglary, four counts of second degree official misconduct, one count of second degree attempted aggravated arson, and two counts of second degree conspiracy to commit aggravated arson. The defendant is being held in the Sussex County Jail on a $50,000.00 bail.

The defendant is facing significant jail time on these charges. He is charged with a number of second degree offenses which require five (5) to ten (10) years in state prison if convicted and there is a presumption of incarceration on each. Moreover, some of these charges are subject to the “No Early Release Act” (NERA) which requires a defendant to serve 85% of his prison term before he or she is eligible for parole.

Official Misconduct charges are typically governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2 which provides in pertinent part:

A public servant is guilty of official misconduct when, with purpose to obtain a benefit for himself or another or to injure or to deprive another of a benefit:

a. He commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized or he is committing such act in an unauthorized manner; or

b. He knowingly refrains from performing a duty which is imposed upon him by law or is clearly inherent in the nature of his office.

Official misconduct is a crime of the second degree. If the benefit obtained or sought to be obtained, or of which another is deprived or sought to be deprived, is of a value of $ 200.00 or less, the offense of official misconduct is a crime of the third degree.