Miami Federal Court Hearing For Man Accused Of Phone Threats After School Shooting

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A detention hearing was held in Miami federal court for a Venezuelan man accused of making threatening phone calls to residents of Newtown, Connecticut, days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012.

Wilfrido Cardenas Hoffman, 30, was arrested Saturday, June 21st, at Miami International Airport while traveling to Mexico from Venezuela, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

During the hearing, Hoffman volunteered to go to Connecticut to face a charge of transmitting threats to injure a person. He faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors said Hoffman made the calls to residents of Newtown two days after the shootings in he claimed to be the gunman. In one of the telephone calls, Hoffman allegedly stated: "This is Adam Lanza. I'm gonna [expletive] kill you. You're dead. You're dead. You hear me? You're dead." In another phone call, Hoffman is accused of saying: "This is Adam Lanza. I'm gonna kill you. You're dead. With my machine gun. You're dead [expletive]."

Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home before he went to the school and gunned down 26 people, including 20 children.  He then killed himself.

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