Woman accused of hiding evidence in N.J. detective’s killing previously worked as a cop

A woman charged in connection with the shooting death of a Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office detective worked as a police officer a decade ago, an official confirmed.
Cyndia E. Pimentel, 38, of Paulsboro, is accused of helping to cover up evidence in the Oct. 15 killing of Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley, who was shot during a home invasion at her residence.
Three others are charged with murder in the case.
Pimentel was employed by the Camden County Police Department from 2013 until 2015, when she was terminated, a spokesman confirmed Sunday. The spokesman would not provide a reason for her termination.
NJ 101.5 first reported on Pimentel’s previous work as a police officer.
She was featured in two press releases issued by the department in 2013 highlighting her work in observing drug transactions that led to arrests.
Authorities investigating Mosley’s death have not confirmed if the victim knew her attackers or if the crime was a random home invasion.
Police responded to Mosley’s home on the 600 block of Buckshutem Road in Bridgeton around 10:30 p.m. after a report of several people kicking in the front door of the residence, according to police.
Officers found Mosley, 51, wounded and she died at the scene.
Authorities believe Nyshawn Mutcherson, 29, of Vineland, Jarred D. Brown, 31, of Bridgeton, and Richard B. Hawkins Willis, 32, of Gloucester City, forced their way into Mosley’s home and shot her multiple times. The detective was able to return fire and struck Mutcherson in the chest before dying of her injuries, according to investigators.
After leaving the house, Brown and Hawkins Willis drove Mutcherson to a medical facility in Bridgeton for treatment, authorities said.
The three men, with Pimentel’s assistance, tried over the following days to discard, destroy and conceal evidence from the home invasion, court documents allege.
The vehicle driven by the killers was a black 2012 Chevy Equinox registered to Pimentel, according to court documents.
She later drove that vehicle, with Hawkins Willis as a passenger, from Paulsboro in Gloucester County to a garage in Philadelphia in order to hide it from police, investigators said.
Pimentel is charged with third-degree hindering an investigation, and fourth-degree counts of obstruction and tampering with evidence.
Brown, Mutcherson and Hawkins Willis are each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree murder during the commission of a burglary, second-degree burglary, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, second-degree certain persons not to possess a weapon, third-degree hindering apprehension and fourth-degree obstruction of justice.
Mutcherson is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a detention hearing, while his three co-defendants are scheduled to appear Thursday for detention hearings.
Mosley began her career with the prosecutor’s office in 2006 as a paralegal specialist and became a county detective in 2009. Hundreds turned out for her funeral service last weekend.
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Matt Gray may be reached at [email protected].