Newark Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Arson and Copper Theft in Boonton Warehouse Fire

Davon Fields, a warehouse manager, was found guilty of setting a deliberate blaze and stealing over $200,000 in copper from a Boonton facility in November 2024.

A Newark resident has been sentenced to eight years in New Jersey State Prison in connection with a November 2024 warehouse fire and copper theft in the Town of Boonton, authorities announced.

On July 11, 2025, Davon Fields, 46, appeared before Judge Ralph E. Amirata in Morris County Superior Court, where he received an eight-year sentence with four years of parole ineligibility. Fields had previously pled guilty on June 2 to second-degree Aggravated Arson, third-degree Burglary, third-degree Theft, and third-degree Criminal Mischief.

The charges stemmed from a fire that broke out around 8:13 p.m. on November 3, 2024, at a commercial warehouse located at 95 Fulton Street in Boonton. Emergency responders from the Boonton Police and Boonton Fire Departments, along with mutual aid companies, contained and extinguished the two-alarm fire. Flames were observed in both the main warehouse area and a secured section leased by a pharmaceutical supply company.

Investigators later determined the fire had been intentionally set. Evidence from the scene included multiple ignition points, a strong odor of petroleum, and a gasoline canister nozzle. Surveillance footage captured two masked individuals entering the premises shortly before the fire began.

Following a joint investigation by the Town of Boonton Police, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, authorities learned that approximately $233,000 worth of copper was missing from industrial equipment used by a separate company operating in the warehouse.

Further inquiry revealed that Fields, who served as the warehouse manager, had been present at the warehouse late at night on both November 1 and November 3. Law enforcement also found that Fields sold significant quantities of copper at a scrapyard on November 1 and 2, prior to the fire.

Fields was arrested on January 13, 2025, and later charged.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll commended the coordinated investigative work across multiple agencies, highlighting the depth of forensic and digital analysis that contributed to the prosecution.

“This case involved a considerable amount of forensic evidence, both physical and digital, for investigators to review and analyze,” Carroll stated. “This case went far beyond a straightforward fire, and I want to recognize how their due diligence and teamwork ensured this defendant was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The investigation was conducted by members of the Town of Boonton Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the Prosecutor’s Office Arson and Environmental Crimes Unit, with additional support from the Special Operations Division and the High Tech Crimes Unit.