Rudy G. Marroquin-Marroquin is now being held on $75,000 cash-only bail after being charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated arson.
Rudy Marroquin-Marroquin (Somerset County Prosecutor's Office)NORTH PLAINFIELD -- A Louisiana man arrested for allegedly setting a fire in his ex-girlfriend's apartment had his reduced from $100,000 cash-only to $75,000 cash-only on Monday by Somerset County Superior Court Judge Bruce A. Jones.
Rudy G. Marroquin-Marroquin, 27, of Bossier City, Louisiana, has been charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated arson. He remains in Somerset County Jail.
Defense attorney Mark Imbriani argued his client had no criminal history and the recommended bail range for his crime is $35,000 to $75,000 with no 10 percent option. He said $100,000 is "excessive" and asked it be reduced to $50,000 with a bond option.
Assistant prosecutor John R. Ascione countered that the bail fit the crime and pointed out that Marroquin-Marroquin is not a resident of New Jersey and is a citizen of Guatemala. Thus, he's a flight risk, Ascione said.
After weighing both arguments, the judge reduced the bail.
The ex-girlfriend wasn't home at the time of the fire, authorities said. Her adult son, who initially smelled the odor of burning plastic from the fire, escaped without injury, authorities said.
On Dec. 27 at approximately 1:18 a.m., North Plainfield police and firefighters responded to a two-and-a-half story wood-frame multi-family house on Somerset Street, authorities said. The blaze, which was contained to a second-floor apartment, was extinguished in approximately an hour, authorities said.
The pair had been dating for approximately nine months, authorities said.
On Dec. 26, the girlfriend said she believed the relationship was over when Marroquin-Marroquin gathered his belongings and moved out after an argument. That day, while she was working at a local bar, he went there and the pair got into an argument, authorities previously stated.
Marroquin-Marroquin then allegedly returned to the apartment and set it on fire authorities stated. According to an investigation into the fire, the ex-girlfriend's 20-year-old son was sleeping on the couch when he saw Marroquin-Marroquin allegedly enter the apartment and then quickly leave.
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