ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 10 (UPI) -- A federal judge in New York asked for more details before revoking a defendant's bail over allegedly menacing a witness in his case via Facebook.
U.S. District Judge Charles Siragusa declined to grant a prosecution motion to revoke the defendant's bail over the so-called "poke," but asked for further information on the matter.
Defendant Richard Riedman is charged in a theft case in upstate New York and allegedly was able to leave threatening messages for a witness in the case on the witness' Facebook page.
The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle said Tuesday that Riedman, a member of the Hells Angels, sent the "poke" that contained word "retribution," which his attorney said was merely the name of a band Riedman was a fan of.
But prosecutors said Riedman violated a court order by making contact with the witness, which they said amounted to witness tampering.
Judge Siragusa questioned why the government did not file criminal tampering charges against Riedman, who was in jail on another charge Tuesday, the newspaper said
