Long Hill man sentenced to 5 years for Great Swamp arsons
Long Hill man sentenced to 5 years for Great Swamp arsons
05 February 2010
published by www.dailyrecord.com
USA — A 64-year-old man with a long history of pyromania was sentenced today to five years in state prison for using cigarettes to light four grass and brush fires in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge last year.
Morton James ”Jimmy” Cullinan had pleaded guilty to four counts of arson, admitting that he purposely lighted cigarettes and threw them into dry patches of brush on March 17, March 18 and April 17, 2009, in a Harding Township portion of the Great Swamp.
He also had admitted that he set a fire on April 16, 2009, in a Long Hill Township portion of the 8,700-acre wildlife preserve.
Defense attorney Peter Gilbreth noted that Cullinan — who last worked at a supermarket in the Stirling section of Long Hill Township — has a mental health history that includes a bipolar diagnosis, depression, and problems with impulse control.
Gilbreth asked Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan to include psychological reports on Cullinan with the judgment of conviction that follows him to state prison so that he has a chance of receiving treatment while behind bars.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Kelley Lavery said the state had to balance Cullinan’s mental health history against public safety when it offered the five-year prison term. It is a flat term, meaning that Cullinan will actually be eligible for parole after serving between one year and 15 months in prison. He will receive credit for 293 days he has spent in the Morris County jail since his arrest.
Cullinan has a prior history of setting fire to property — including a brush fire that damaged a lumber yard in Branchburg, Somerset County, in 1999. He received a 10-year sentence for that crime in 2000 but was paroled after two years.
His arsons never hurt or killed anyone but the judge said the potential was always there.
”His need to set these fires…and his impulses could very well have led to someone’s demise,” Manahan said.
Gilbreth said that Cullinan has demonstrated he can be stable when he takes medication.
