Authorities have jailed a man on charges of witness tampering after he allegedly threatened the life of another man who spoke to investigators pursuing the Beat Down Posse, a notorious north Minneapolis gang that was broken up earlier this year.

Eric Eugene Baker, 34, of the 11000 block of 3rd Street, Blaine, is being held in Hennepin County Jail on $50,000 bail.

Charges filed against him say that on Oct. 2 he contacted Bryan Tiedens, a onetime affiliate of Beat Down Posse leader Joseph Robert Gustafson Sr. Baker asked Tiedens to join him at POV's bar in Andover, where they spent several hours drinking. Tiedens attempted to leave, but Baker held his truck keys and said the truck now belonged to him.

Baker and another man then tried to force Tiedens into a green and white cab that was waiting behind the bar in a spot where cabs don't normally park, according to the complaint. Tiedens managed to break free and left with a friend. During an Oct. 9 phone call, Baker called Tiedens a "snitch" and began threatening him. Baker then sent a text message that read in part "your life is on the line."

Baker faces a Nov. 4 court date.

MATT MCKINNEY