Man charged after allegedly faking threats, filing false police reports in Sussex County
FRANKLIN BOROUGH, N.J. (Sussex County) — A West Milford man has been charged after allegedly fabricating threatening messages and falsely reporting them to police in an attempt to incriminate others, Franklin Borough police said.
Following a lengthy investigation, Nathan W. Slingland, 22, was charged on Sept. 22, 2025, with two counts of third-degree false reports to law enforcement incriminating another.
Police said the investigation began in June 2025 after Slingland reported receiving threatening and harassing messages from two individuals known to him. He told officers he feared for his safety due to alleged terroristic threats.
During the review of the reported communications, investigators noted inconsistencies regarding the nature and origin of the messages. The Franklin Borough Detective Bureau conducted a follow-up investigation to verify the source of the texts.
Over the course of several weeks, detectives determined that the phone numbers Slingland claimed were used to send the threats were linked to third-party texting applications. Further investigation revealed that the associated email accounts and recovery phone numbers were registered under Slingland’s own name and control.
Authorities said the evidence showed Slingland sent the threatening messages to himself and then falsely reported them to law enforcement to incriminate others.
Slingland was issued a complaint summons and released pending an appearance in Sussex County Superior Court in accordance with the New Jersey Bail Reform Act.
