Venezuelan Man Admits to Threatening Newtown Residents

A Venezuelan man facing federal charges has admitted to placing 96 threatening phone calls to Newtown residents two days after the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre in 2012.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, 30-year-old Wilfrido A. Cardenas Hoffman, of Venezuela, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court Thursday.

Federal prosecutors said Cardenas Hoffman used voice-over-IP technology to call the homes of Newtown residents on Dec. 16, 2012 claiming to be school shooter Adam Lanza.

"This is Adam Lanza. I’m gonna [expletive] kill you. You’re dead. You’re dead. You hear me? You’re dead," Cardenas Hoffman said in one of the calls, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Authorities obtained a criminal complaint charging him with "transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce to injure the person of another" in May 2013 and officially arrested him on June 21 of this year when Cardenas Hoffman traveled through Miami International Airport.

“As we approach the second anniversary of this terrible event, we remember all of the victims whose lives were lost, and their family and friends who still struggle to manage their grief,” U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly said in a statement Thursday.

“These threatening calls, just two days after the tragedy, compounded the collective suffering of all of the citizens of Newtown and needlessly stressed law enforcement resources at a critical time. It is reprehensible criminal conduct. We are committed to investigating similar hoax crimes and prosecuting all who commit them, here and abroad,” Daly continued.

Federal investigators said Cardenas Hoffman called about 47 phone numbers more than 90 times. He has been in custody since his arrest in June.

Cardenas Hoffman will face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is slated for Feb. 12, 2015.

A judge ordered Cardenas Hoffman to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at his previous court appearance in New Haven.

Any Newtown residents who have received a threatening phone call are asked to call Lori Vernali, victim/witness coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's office, at 203-821-3818.

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