His rap? Using Facebook to intimidate

A20-YEAR-OLD Kensington man is accused of using Facebook to threaten witnesses who were to testify against his friends in a weapons case.

Freddie Henriquez allegedly obtained a witness' statement and posted images of it on Facebook, accompanied with a caption that said "RATS."

Henriquez also posted other threatening messages on Facebook, authorities say. In an August post provided by prosecutors, he wrote, "KILL RATS point blank period."

Those threats came after four of his associates were arrested in February for an alleged conspiracy involving straw purchases of firearms.

Henriquez was taken into custody Monday and charged with witness retaliation, witness intimidation and terroristic threats, authorities said.

He is being held on $250,000 bail. He faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 2.

Two of his associates have pleaded guilty in the firearms case. Jeffrey Maldonado, 23, pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to make false statements and to providing false information for firearm ownership. He was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in jail. Qumere Jenkins, 19, pleaded guilty in October to the same charges and was sentenced to nine to 23 months behind bars. Cases are still pending against Christian Maldonado, 19, and Anthony Espinosa, 22.