A South Jersey police officer has been sentenced to probation following his arrest earlier this year on charges that he hid an assault rifle under his bed, stalked his ex-girlfriend and sent text messages in which he described killing her, and her dog.

Nathan F. Pino, 33, remains suspended from his position as a corporal with Carneys Point Township Police and it seems unlikely he will return to that job.

He was arrested in January after a Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, police officer serving a domestic violence search warrant at his house found the assault rifle under his bed.

Pino 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.

The search warrant was served when Runnemede police charged Pino with stalking and harassing his ex. He was accused of repeatedly following her, showing up at her home, using a cellphone app to track her location and sending her threatening texts, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. One message stated, “Well you will be dead soon. Probably me sooner. Hope this was your life goal.”

Police were speaking with the woman at her home when Pino drove by again, they reported. When they tried to stop his vehicle, he refused at first, then refused to get out of the vehicle when he did stop. An officer had to physically remove him and he was charged with resisting arrest.

He was free on all of these charges when he was then accused of sending a series of text messages to a Penns Grove cop in which he talked about killing his ex and her dog.

“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,” read another.

He was charged with terroristic threats in that case and was arrested March 1 in Pennsylvania.

The 11-year veteran of the police department was suspended without pay following his arrests.

The cases in Gloucester and Salem counties were transferred to Camden County and all were recently handled under a plea agreement.

Pino pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree count of stalking in the Camden County case and a disorderly persons offense in the Gloucester County case and was sentenced Aug. 9 to a three-year term of probation.

The terroristic threats charge was dismissed, as were charges of harassment, resisting arrest and obstruction.

The gun charge was administratively dismissed by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office in May.

Under the plea, Pino also surrendered his right to possess or purchase firearms ever again and must abide by a permanent stalking restraining order.

He remains suspended without pay from the police department pending a future hearing with the township committee.

Given that his plea agreement prohibits him from possessing firearms, it’s doubtful he will return to his old post.

Police Chief Gerald Krivda declined to comment pending the outcome of the employment hearing.

Pino’s attorney, James M. Conley, also declined to comment.

In addition to the criminal cases, Pino is the subject of a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing him of using excessive force and making an unlawful arrest during a 2018 incident in Carneys Point.

He previously served as the president of the Carneys Point Police Officers Association labor union, and was named the department’s officer of the year in 2014.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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