The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office says a man accused of threatening a witness on Facebook pleaded guilty Thursday to witness retaliation.
Freddie Henriquez, 20, faces a maximum sentence of 3 1/5 to 7 years when he is sentenced on August 8.
Police say the ordeal began with the arrest of Christian Maldonado, 19, Jeffrey Maldonado, 23, Qumere Jenkins, 19, and Anthony Espinosa, 22. All four men were arrested and charged in February for allegedly partaking in a conspiracy to straw purchase numerous firearms in Philadelphia.
In November, Henriquez, who police say is an associate of the four men, allegedly threatened a woman in their case. Investigators say Henriquez obtained a woman’s statement, posted photos of it on Facebook and added the caption “RAT.” Henriquez also allegedly wrote “KILL ALL RATS."
Henriquez was arrested and charged with witness retaliation, witness intimidation and terroristic threats.
As for Henriquez’s alleged associates, Jeffrey Maldonado pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced to 11 to 23 months incarceration while Jenkins pleaded guilty in October and was sentenced to 9 to 23 months incarceration. Espinosa and Maldonado were also sentenced in the case.
In February, District Attorney Seth Williams called out Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook on Monday, claiming the popular social media site failed to remove posts.
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A Facebook spokesman told the Associated Press the company works with law enforcement to ensure the safety of users “and any assertion to the contrary is false.”
