Buena Vista Man Charged in Egg Harbor City Fire
From the Atlantic City Press Published: Friday, October 24, 2008
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By ERIC SCOTT CAMPBELL Staff Writer, 609-272-7227
EGG HARBOR CITY - A downtown fire early Thursday morning left several apartment residents homeless, the shell-shocked and uninsured owner of a destroyed clothing shop out at least $60,000 and a 24-year-old man in jail, charged with intentionally setting the blaze. Donald J. Lentz, of Buena Vista Township, is being held at the Atlantic County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. He faces charges of aggravated arson and terroristic threats.
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No one is believed to have been injured in the fire, which broke out at about 12:05 a.m. at 147 Philadelphia Ave. and was extinguished at about 4:30 a.m. Downstairs, the building held Nu Fashion: Authentic Urban Wear and a vacant storefront. Upstairs were apartments, similar to both adjacent buildings, which hold the Venice Grill and the La Placita grocery.
Sandra Harrington, who lives in an apartment above Nu Fashion with her 25-year-old daughter Sarah, said Lentz is her daughter's ex-boyfriend and that he targeted the building when her daughter and a new boyfriend were inside.
"She called me at work and said, 'Mom, Donnie set the house on fire,'" Harrington said, adding that her daughter saw Lentz's vehicle driving away moments after she saw the flames. Sarah Harrington could not be reached for comment; Harrington said the family has pressed charges against Lentz before.
Some time between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., Lentz was arrested at his home, said Madelaine Vitale, spokeswoman for the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. The Press of Atlantic City sought comment on Lentz's behalf, but a man who answered the telephone at his family's home twice hung up, and it was not known whether Lentz has legal representation.
The fire destroyed Nu Fashion's building and the apartments in all three buildings. Nu Fashion owner Reggie White knew nothing about the fire until he showed up to open his shop at 10:30 a.m.
"It's like a nightmare, man," said White, an Atlantic City resident who has owned the business for a year and a half. He estimated that he lost at least $60,000 in merchandise.
White said he would try to start over: "I have new shipments of stuff coming in, so I guess I have to relocate, find a new store."
Displaced residents of the apartments were staying at the Ramada Inn in Hammonton, Police Chief John McColgan said. Venice Grill's business space has damage from smoke and water, seen when owner Buzz Lederer took a reporter on a brief tour.
Lederer said of the firefighters, "I've never seen guys work that hard to get a fire under control."
Responding fire companies hailed from Egg Harbor City, South Egg Harbor, Germania, Cologne and Elwood, as well as the Egg Harbor City rescue squad, city Fire Chief Russ Fenton said. The Prosecutor's Office arson unit and city police are investigating the fire.
E-mail Eric Scott Campbell: ECampbell@pressofac.com
