Roberto Silva Jr has plead guilty to charges relating to a shooting at a Sonic Restaurant that left two people dead and two others injured. According to court documents Roberto Silva Jr arrived at the Sonic Restaurant in Nebraska driving a U-Haul. Once in the parking lot Roberto Silva Jr would set the moving van on fire before heading into the restaurant and opening fire killing 22-year-old Nathan Pastrana and 28-year-old Ryan Helbert and injuring two others. Apparently the reason behind the deadly shooting was Roberto Silva Jr had been arrested days earlier for using a stolen Sonic app to pay for four orders of food. Roberto Silva Jr was out on bail at the time of the shooting. Nebraska prosecutors are saying that even though he plead guilty they still plan on seeking the death penalty.
Roberto Silva Jr More News
A man pleaded guilty to killing two workers and wounding two others at a Nebraska fast-food restaurant.
The Sarpy County attorney says Roberto Silva Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to all 15 charges related to the Nov. 21, 2020, shooting at a Sonic Drive-in restaurant in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue.
The plea means Silva’s case won’t go to trial, but Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov says he still plans to seek the death penalty.
Silva faced two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and arson. He was accused of setting fire to a U-Haul truck that he had driven to the Sonic Drive-in and then entered the restaurant and shot the workers. When officers arrived, they found the U-Haul ablaze and four victims in the business.
The deceased employees were identified as Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28. The two surviving but injured victims were ages 18 and 25 at the time of the shooting.
Three days prior to the deadly attack, on Nov. 18, 2020, employees at the same Sonic Drive-In called police on Silva for “fraudulent activity” for allegedly trying to use another person’s Sonic app account to purchase $57 worth of food. After a short investigation, Silva was arrested and booked into jail. He was released on bond Nov. 20 and committed the deadly attack on the restaurant the next day.
A Sonic Drive-In spokesperson told WOWT that Silva was not an employee and never was.
Roberto Silva Jr Other News
The man accused in the deadly 2020 attack on a Bellevue Sonic Drive-In pleaded guilty Monday to all charges.
The 15 counts against Roberto Silva Jr. include first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, among others.
Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said he will seek the death penalty against Silva in the attack that killed employees, Nathan Pastrana and Ryan Helbert.
It was Nov. 21, 2020, when Silva threw an incendiary device, set fire to materials in a rental truck and opened fire in the Bellevue Sonic Drive-In near 15th Street and Cornhusker Road.
Four employees were shot inside the restaurant including the two who died. Three others were able to escape unharmed.