By Shereen Siewert

A 48-year-old Marshfield man is facing multiple felony charges after a former girlfriend reported he threatened her life, fired gunshots and threw explosives at the home where she was staying, according to court records.

Corey Machtan appeared Nov. 12 in Marathon County Circuit Court, where he faces charges of possessing explosives for unlawful purposes, fleeing an officer, strangulation/suffocation, making terrorist threats, battery, threaten harm or injury via computer message, and criminal trespassing. During an initial appearance Circuit Judge Greg Strasser ordered Machtan held on a $50,000 cash bond.

According to the police report police responded just after noon on Nov. 1 to County Road P in the town of Eau Pleine regarding threatening text messages and an explosive that had been thrown at the home. The reporting party told police Machtan had made death threats, and the Marathon County Bomb Squad was dispatched to handle the suspected explosive.

Police say Machtan was upset that his former girlfriend was spending time with someone else, and threatened the life of his former girlfriend, her friend, and her friend’s mother, sending 61 test messages in an eight-hour span leading up to the incident. The threatening behavior allegedly began about a week prior, according to the police report.

Investigators have screen shots that contain messages such as “You better run and hide cause I’m coming” and “All fun and games until (name redacted) is dead.”

Police say the relationship ended five months prior.

In a previously reported incident the suspect allegedly threw a possible improvised explosive device at a home which also prompted a response from the Marathon County Bomb Squad, according to court filings.

The alleged victim also told police Machtan previously attacked her and tried to strangle her, and had been seen sitting at the end of the driveway watching the home, sometimes shooting his gun near the house, the police report states.

Then on Nov. 7, police attempted to pull Machtan over in his vehicle on Rangeline Road in the town of Day, but Machtan did not stop, instead accelerating to more than 60 mph before finally pulling over after a chase of about 2.5 miles.

A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 3.