Venezuelan Man Pleads Guilty to Newtown Phone Call Threats

A Venezuelan man pleaded guilty Thursday to making more than 90 threatening calls to about 47 different Newtown phone numbers days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to statements and court documents, Wilfrido Cardenas Hoffman, 31, used a voice over IP application on an iPod to make phone calls from his home in Venezuela to Newtown residences, said U.S. District Attorney Connecticut Office spokesman Tom Carson.

The calls were made two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The attack occurred on Dec. 14, 2012 and claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators.

In one call he said, “This is Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook shooter). I’m gonna [expletive] kill you. You’re dead. You’re dead. You hear me? You’re dead.”

In another phone call, he stated: “This is Adam Lanza. I’m gonna kill you. You’re dead. With my machine gun. You’re dead [expletive].”

Cardenas-Hoffman was charged in a criminal complaint in May 2013 and was arrested in June 2014 at the Miami International Airport as he en route to Mexico from Venezuela.

“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,” said U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly. “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.”

The FBI took the matter very seriously.

“Mr. Hoffman’s actions in the days after December 14, 2012, further victimized an already vulnerable community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Ferrick. “As a society we simply cannot tolerate this type of heinous behavior. Crimes like this will continue to be a priority of the FBI.”

He is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District court in February.