Philadelphia Man Convicted of Arson & Aggravated Assault On Oak Valley Volunteer Firefighter

Bret A. Henderson, 51, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted by a jury on May 15, 2017 of arson and aggravated assault on an Oak Valley Fire Company volunteer firefighter, who was burned while extinguishing a fire that Henderson had set.

Henderson was found guilty of setting his former home on fire in the Oak Valley section of Deptford Township. The fire occurred on June 14, 2015, two days after Henderson’s ex-wife was awarded ownership of their Haggas Avenue home in a hearing.

Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Rex Utuk told the jury that Henderson resided there at the time.

In Henderson’s trial, the county Fire Marshal testified that gasoline had been poured in two locations in the house.

The injured member of the Oak Valley Fire Company, John Hernisey, testified he sustained a burn on his neck.

Henderson did not testify. His lawyer contended the case was entirely circumstantial.

Utuk called it: “A case of a man who decided if he could not have the house, no one would.”

The house, which was insured, was ultimately demolished.

Sentencing for the two third-degree offenses will be June 30 before Gloucester County Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson.

(Source: Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office. Article corrected May 17, 2017 at 2:15 p.m. to correct the date of conviction.)