Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that a 23-year-old Burlington Township man was sentenced today to 22 years in state prison for starting a fire at a Pemberton Borough apartment complex last year that killed a man who lived there.

Newlin Evans IV, who pled guilty in January to Aggravated Manslaughter (First Degree), must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. The sentence was handed down in Superior Court in Mount Holly by the Hon. Terrence R. Cook, P.J.Cr., in accordance with a plea agreement between the defendant and the Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation began after emergency officials were dispatched to a fire at the Tara Hall Apartment Complex in the first block of Egbert Street during the early morning hours of April 20, 2022.

The investigation revealed that Evans cut the screen of a ground floor apartment, broke the window and threw material soaked in gasoline that he had lit on fire into the unit. The blaze killed 22-year-old Camryn Powell.

Evans, who suffered burns, fled the scene and ultimately was transported to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia for treatment. He was arrested upon being discharged in May 2022.

The investigation was conducted by the New Jersey State Police, with assistance from the Pemberton Borough Police Department, Mansfield Police Department, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, Burlington County Fire Marshal’s Office, Jefferson Hospital Campus Security Department and the Philadelphia Police Department.

Evans was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Andrew McDonnell, supervisor of the BCPO Financial Crimes Unit.

2023-21 Man Sentenced for Setting Fatal Pemberton Borough Fire