Newark Man Arrested for Violent & Racist Texts

A Newark man is facing charges after allegedly sending threatening and racist text messages to another person.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office reports arresting 48-year old James Pettine on Friday. He is alleged to have sent 74 texts and a voicemail over a period of roughly 3 1/2 hours in May threatening harm to the victim and his family while making mention of the victim being Pettine’s “slave.”

Pettine was arrested for Aggravated Harassment and Stalking, both charges are with Hate Crime add-ons making them a Class E Felony and A Misdemeanor respectively.