UPDATE: This story was updated to include new information about Nathan Pino’s jail status.
A South Jersey police officer allegedly sent text messages in which he threatened to kill an ex-girlfriend and poison her dog.
Charges of terroristic threats for sending those messages followed the officer’s arrest for illegal possession of an assault rifle, stalking and harassment, NJ Advance Media has learned.
In all, Carneys Point Police Cpl. Nathan F. Pino is charged with crimes in three counties and is now sitting in a Salem County jail cell.
Pino, 33, was first jailed in January after a Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, police officer serving a domestic violence search warrant at his house found an assault rifle under his bed.
He was charged with possession of an unregistered “assault firearm” without being licensed, and with failing to render it inoperable, according to his criminal complaint. The complaint described the weapon as a semi-automatic rifle with a collapsible stock and a pistol grip.
In the domestic violence case that prompted that search, Runnemede police charged him with stalking and harassment of his ex-girlfriend.
Pino was accused of repeatedly following the woman, showing up at her home, using a cellphone app to track her location and of sending threatening text messages, according to a criminal complaint. One of those messages stated, “Well you will be dead soon. Probably me sooner. Hope this was your life goal.”
Officers were at the woman’s home speaking with her about these issues when Pino drove past again, they reported.
When police tried to stop his vehicle, he refused at first. When he did stop, he refused to get out of the vehicle. A patrolman physically removed him, then Pino allegedly refused to put his arms behind his back so that he could be handcuffed. He was charged with resisting arrest.
That same day, he was also charged with the weapons offense in Gloucester County.
He was free on the gun charge when he allegedly sent a series of text messages to a Penns Grove police officer in which he talked about killing his ex.
“She is dead in under two weeks after I make her life hell,” one message stated, according to a criminal complaint. “I’m killing her dog first,” “Get me psyched up and I’ll do it tonight.”
The Penns Grove officer turned over eight pages of text messages allegedly sent by Pino, who also wrote about taking his own life.
“She deserves death and she will get it. I have no problem killing myself after. I was gonna kill myself that night but the cops stopped me from getting home.”
A terroristic threats charge in that case was filed Feb. 22 and Pino remained at large until his arrest on March 1 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
He was returned to New Jersey on Tuesday and is now housed in the Salem County Correctional Facility.
An 11-year veteran of the police department, Pino is suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges, township officials confirmed.
His current salary is listed as $96,116, according to state pension records.
Pino previously served as the president of the Carneys Point Police Officers Association and was named the department’s officer of the year in 2014.
His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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