Roberto Carlos Silva Jr who opened fire at a Sonic restaurant is now facing the death penalty in Nebraska. According to police reports Roberto Carlos Silva Jr would go to a Sonic restaurant driving a U-Haul van through the drive thru lane and would open fire killing two employees and injuring two others. Roberto Carlos Silva Jr would also throw a number of incendiary devices through the window. Of course with the mugshot of Roberto Carlos Silva Jr (posted above) he was quickly dubbed the Smiling Shooter.
Roberto Carlos Silva Jr. of Omaha is now facing first-degree murder charges in the Nov. 21, 2020, attack on the Bellevue Sonic Drive-In near 15th Street and Cornhusker Road. Authorities say he “threw an incendiary device, ignited materials in a rental truck and opened fire,” wounding four employees, two of whom died.
Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said during a news conference Monday afternoon that extensive investigation revealed new information that fit the aggravating circumstances necessary for a death-penalty sentence.
“I took these procedural steps today because I intend to seek the death penalty in this case,” Polikov said in a news release Monday. “I based my decision on the initial investigation as well as new information we received after the case was initially filed, which fit the aggravating circumstances necessary to seek the death penalty.”
Polikov said this was the first time in his 22 year career as County Attorney that he had sought the death penalty — a decision he said he didn’t come to lightly.
“I will tell you that there are nine circumstances outlined by statutes that are aggravating circumstances and the evidence we have, we haven’t presented in court so I don’t want to get into the details of why we think that a number of those nine aggravators are applicable to this case,” Polikov added.
The list of aggravators identified by Polikov’s team won’t be released to the public until the case is filed in district court, which could take weeks or months.
In total, Silva now faces more than a dozen felony charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson.
Polikov’s new filing also includes three new counts of attempted first-degree murder for the three employees who escaped the attack uninjured. It also includes three new counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony.
“Even though there’s a lot of charges in this, I don’t feel it’s a case where we’re over-charging or trying to force anything from the defendant,” Polikov added.
If Silva is convicted in the shooting, a jury or three-judge panel will determine whether those aggravators are present. A three-judge panel makes the final decision about whether the death penalty is warranted following a conviction.
Polikov’s team says victims and family of victims had been notified about the update in Silva’s case, and that they understand why these steps are being taken. 6 News reached out to the families of several victims, but have not received a response at this time.
Since jailed for the attack, Silva has also been charged with attacking another inmate and is facing a felony charge of escape and three misdemeanor assault charges related to an Oct. 7 incident at the Sarpy County Jail, where he allegedly threw cups of feces and urine at corrections officers.
He has been moved from the Sarpy County Jail to the Tecumseh state prison.
Anna Bella Dukes is an eighteen year old alleged teen killer who set up a meeting over Snapchat that led to murder. According to police reports Anna Bella Dukes set up a meeting with the victims brother at a remote location in the early hours. When the victim showed up with his brother the pair would be robbed and Elias Otero would be fatally shot by seventeen year old Adrian Avila. Now Anna Bella Dukes and Adrian Avila have been arrested and charged with first degree murder and armed robbery. Below is the police report of the murder:
“The suspects dragged the victim from his red Lexus and demanded cash, jewelry and a gun from him. They entered the Lexus and another vehicle, holding the victim at gunpoint and drove to the victim’s residence. The carjacking suspects ordered the victim to call his brother and have him bring money and a gun outside, or they would shoot and kill the victim.
When they arrived at the victim’s home on Timothy Ct. S.W., the victim’s brother, later identified as Elias Otero, came out of the house and threatened to shoot the suspects. At some point, Avila fired a gun at Otero, killing him in the street.
The original carjacking victim jumped out of the vehicle as the suspects fled the scene.”
Anna Bella Dukes More News
An Albuquerque teen pleaded not guilty Friday morning to kidnapping and murder. Police say 18-year-old Anna Bella Dukes lured a man into a robbery through social media last year.
APD believes Dukes, along with Adrian Avila and two other suspects held the victim at gunpoint demanding cash, jewelry, and a gun. They allegedly drove to his home and when they arrived, his brother, 24-year-old Elias Otero, came out of the house and threatened to shoot the suspects.
Police say Avila then show and killed Otero. Prosecutors are now asking a judge to keep her locked up until trial, saying Dukes went on the run for nearly a year before she was arrested. A different judge will have to make that determination.
Darius Sessoms will face the death penalty in North Carolina if he is convicted in the brutal murder of five year old Cannon Hinnant. According to police reports Darius Sessoms would fatally shoot five year old Cannon Hinnant in front of his two siblings. Darius Sessoms who lived in a home next to the Hinnart’s family reportedly ran across the street towards Cannon Hinnart and fatally shot the little boy in the head. Darius Sessoms would quickly become the prime suspect and would be arrested and later charged with the murder of the boy. North Carolina officials have announced they intend to seek the death penalty if Darius Sessoms if convicted.
Darius Sessoms More News
The man accused of murdering 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant in his front yard in 2020 has officially been indicted.
Investigators said Darius Sessoms, 25, shot and killed Hinnant on August 9, 2020 in Wilson, North Carolina. The young boy was on his bike not far from his own front door when he was fatally shot
“I just don’t understand why he did it,” a neighbor said at the time. “How can you walk up to a little boy, point blank, and put a gun to his head and just shoot him? How could anyone do that?”
On Dec. 22, a grand jury indicted Sessoms on the charge of first-degree murder. Sessoms’ next court date is scheduled for Jan. 24.
The mother of a North Carolina 5-year-old who was shot and killed in his front yard said she backs prosecutors’ plans to seek the death penalty, insisting Wednesday, “Nobody should get away with murdering a child.” The Wilson County district attorney’s office announced its plans this week to pursue capital punishment for Darius Sessoms in the August 2020 shooting, for which he has been indicted for first-degree murder. Cannon Hinnant was riding his bicycle through his father’s front yard in Wilson when a man shot him in the head at point-blank range.
The case drew international headlines and, though outraged and deep in grief, Wilson struggled to contain the crisis from spilling over into ugly backlash. Social media exploded with racist rhetoric noting that Sessoms is Black and Cannon was white. One NC leader drew criticism for making online suggestions for lynching. The community came together in candlelight vigils and around a large downtown mural, painted by an Ohio graffiti artist and featuring the child’s silhouette over the word “Innocent.” Twitter hashtags such as #justiceforcannon continue.
Days after his arrest, Sessoms’ mother Carolyn told the N&O her 25-year-old son shot Cannon in a drug-fueled haze that her family was powerless to stop. She said she had gone to church earlier that day and found him in the home they shared, unrecognizable. In tears on her front porch, Carolyn Sessoms shook with grief as she spoke, “We think he had gotten hold of something. He was hallucinating. We tried to get the gun out of his hand, but he was so strong. He was so strong.”
On Wednesday, Parker said it was difficult to see her son’s accused slayer in person during a hearing this week
“It was a lot of anger,” she said, “a lot of trying to hold back, keeping my mouth shut, not wanting to stand up and say something.” A judge still must sign off on the state’s plans to pursue the death penalty, and another hearing is set for April.
Meanwhile, Parker said she supports capital punishment in the case because “I just want this to make an example. It’s been hard, period. Every single day it’s hard. We lost a 5-year-old child.” She said she tried to reach out to Sessoms’ father, who tackled his son during the attack, but has not heard back.
“If it wasn’t for him,” she said, “I would have lost all my kids. He could have lost his own life.”
Arizona plans to seek the death penalty for Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera for the murder of their eleven year old adopted daughter. According to police reports Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera would murder their eleven year old adopted daughter whose body was left in the attic of the family home for years before the murderous pair would set the home on fire in order to cover up the brutal murder. The couple who were arrested in January 2020 will fight a host of charges including first degree murder and if convicted could send the pair to Arizona death row
Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera More News
State prosecutors in Arizona are seeking the death penalty against a married couple accused of killing their 11-year-old adopted daughter, hiding her body in the attic of their home for several years, and then setting the house on fire. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office this week formally filed Notices of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty against Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera, both of whom are facing a slew of felony charges in connection with the death of Ana Loera
As previously reported by Law&Crime, the Loeras in January 2020 were both arrested and later charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse, concealment of a body, and arson of an occupied structure.
If convicted on the first-degree murder charges, prosecutors said they plan to present evidence of aggravating factors at the sentencing phase of the trial showing that the Loeras’ conduct was “especially heinous, cruel, or depraved” and justify putting the adoptive parents to death.
“If not yet admitted into evidence, the State will offer additional evidence from guilt phase witnesses relevant to the aggravating factors, including the cruelty suffered by the victim,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “For example, the State will be calling the Medical Examiner and Forensic Anthropologist to discuss cruelty elements.”
The cruelty elements of Arizona law require prosecutors to include the mental, emotional, and physical suffering of the victim. The heinous and depraved elements of the law look at factors such as the helplessness of the victim, the senselessness of the crime, and violations of a special caretaker relationship, among other things.
Officers with the Phoenix Police Department and firefighters with the Phoenix Fire Department on Jan. 28, 2020 responded to a 911 call reporting a fire at the Loeras’ home. The call came in only an hour after the Department of Child Safety removed three children from the home due to allegations of severe abuse
After firefighters were able to subdue the blaze, authorities entered the home and found Ana’s skeletal remains stuffed in the attic.
Under questioning from investigators, Rafael allegedly admitted to siphoning gasoline from his car which he then used to set the house on fire. Citing court records, Phoenix NBC affiliate KPNX reported that Rafael also confessed that he wrapped Ana’s dead body “in a blanket and stashed it in the attic of the home.”
Rafael reportedly told police that Ana fell very ill in the summer of 2017 but that he “waited several days before trying to seek medical attention,” The Associated Pressreported. When he finally decided to take Ana to see a doctor, Rafael allegedly said that he put her in the car and started driving. He then claimed the girl began convulsing and vomiting and then died before they reached the hospital. He reportedly claimed he didn’t report her death because he didn’t want his other children to be taken away, so he stashed the body in the attic. Two of those other children were Ana’s siblings
Despite Rafael’s claims that Ana died in July 2017, investigators with Phoenix police said witnesses had last seen Ana alive in 2016.
Rafael and Maribel are currently scheduled to be tried on March 1.
The Dougherty Gang was a group of three siblings whose brief crime spree caught the attention of the Nation. The Dougherty Gang consisted of Lee Grace Dougherty and her two brothers Ryan Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty. In this article on My Crime Library we are going to take a closer look at the bizarre crime spree of the Dougherty Gang
Early Years Of The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang were from Florida and everything came to a terrible end when Ryan had to attend court to answer to charges of “sending a minor harmful information” and “lewd and lascivious conduct.” which came from an incident where Ryan was texting a girl who he thought was thirteen years old but turned out to be eleven years old. Ryan Dougherty had entered the courtroom thinking he was facing five years of probation however he was in for a surprise.
Ryan Dougherty was sentenced to two years of house arrest, ten years of probation and if he screwed up was facing fifteen years in prison. However the part of sentencing that stopped Ryan cold was that he was to be placed on Florida Sex Offender list.
After leaving the courtroom Ryan Dougherty would head over to his probation officer who would tell him that he was not allowed to have any contact with anyone under the age of 18 and would not allow to attend his girlfriend’s birth nor live in her house. Ryan would freak out.
Ryan’s nightmare was not over as he was told that he would have to wear a ankle bracelet which would cost $240, which was a quarter of Ryan’s income. The most pressing item though was that Ryan would need two pieces of identification within the next 48 hours or he was on his way to prison. Ryan Dougherty who did not have a mailbox was frantic he was headed to prison for no mailbox would mean obtaining another piece of identification was nearly impossible.
Ryan would head home and call his brother Dylan Dougherty and sister Lee Grace Dougherty to explain the predicament that he had found himself in. The three siblings would write note to each other as they believed that the ankle bracelet had an audio feature so that his probation officer could hear of their plans. In the end the three siblings came up with a horrible plan that would see all of them end in prison for a very long time.
The Crime Spree Begins – The Dougherty Gang
The next morning Ryan Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty would pack the vehicle with a number of guns, a ton of ammunition, clothes, food and water. A few miles down the road Ryan ankle bracelet would be cut off and thrown into a bush. Ryan who had a heavy foot was speeding down a Florida road when he was spotted by a Zephyrhills police officer. Ryan tried to outrun the Officer however it was not until someone from their vehicle would fire a number of gunshots at the officer ending with his vehicle being disabled due to a flat tire. The Dougherty Gang would somehow be able to escape the police dragnet and get out of Florida and ended up in Georgia.
Georgia Bank Robbery – The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang would enter the CertusBank in Valdosta, Georgia where two of them were heavily armed. The photo later released by the FBI (pictured above) is believed to be Lee Grace Dougherty. The robbery for the Dougherty gang went rather smooth as they were able to get away with just over $5000. However now they had a new problem as the FBI.
The Dougherty Gang would stick to the back roads and would drive all over the country until they ended up in Colorado.
Police Shootout – The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang would end up in Colorado as they tried to figure out how they were going to cross the border into Mexico however their plans were soon halted when they attracted an undercover police officer and once again a police chase began.
Ryan Dougherty would get their vehicle up to 120 miles per hour however the police chase was not going to let them go. Soon after the vehicle would run over a spike strip that would instantly flatten a number of the vehicles tires. The vehicle would smash into a guardrail and the Daugherty gang would find themselves outside of the vehicle and surrounded by armed police officers. The police would shoot Lee Grace Daugherty as she threatened police with a weapon. Soon after all three would be in custody going to jail after stopping at the hospital for treatment
Dougherty Gang Aftermath
Now the three Daugherty siblings were in a jail in Colorado and were facing a host of charges stemming from shooting at the police officer in Florida, the bank robbery in Georgia and the final police chase in Colorado. After a lot of legal wrangling the three siblings would receive thirty five years in prison for the bank robbery in Georgia, Ryan Daugherty would receive 18 years for his part in Colorado where his sister Lee Grace would receive 24 years and Dylan would receive 34 years. Ryan Dougherty would receive an additional 40 years in prison for shooting at a police officer and failing to register as a sex offender. Needless to say it will be a long time before they ever get out of jail
DC Number: V29355 Name: DOUGHERTY, RYAN E Race: WHITE Sex: MALE Birth Date: 08/21/1989 Initial Receipt Date: 07/25/2014 Current Facility: FEDERAL CUSTODY Current Custody: PENDING Current Release Date: 07/06/2054
The three “Dougherty gang” siblings, who went on a multi-state crime spree in 2011, were sentenced to prison today in Colorado. Among them, they will serve 74 years behind bars.
Ryan Dougherty, 22, the last to be sentenced, was given 18 years in prison. He had faced a maximum of 20 years after pleading guilty to five counts of menacing.
Earlier today, his sister, Lee Grace Dougherty was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Dylan Dougherty, 27, received a 32-year sentence.
Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, had faced a maximum of 28 years for pleading guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of menacing.
Dylan Dougherty was the only one of the three to be given the maximum sentence. He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault, according to ABC News’ Denver affiliate KMGH. The siblings’ crimes included a Colorado shootout with police and a daring bank robbery in Georgia.
“Contrary to a lot of people’s beliefs, I never intended to…I never tried to…I never wanted to hurt anybody,” an emotional Dylan Dougherty told the Huerfano County judge.
“It is true that I acted out of desperation and I am sorry for the choices that I made,” he said tearfully. “I don’t know really what things differently I would have done, but I truly am sorry to anyone who was involved.”
He apologized to police and to bystanders who could have been hurt, and said that his actions were “not to my character.”
Officials in Georgia are waiting for the siblings to be extradited for charges related to the bank robbery. After today’s sentencing in Colorado, they are expected to be transported to Albany, Ga., by the U.S. Marshals Service for a hearing May 15.
The three were allegedly driving as fast as 100 miles per hour on Aug. 2 when a Zephyrhills, Fla., police officer tried to pull them over. They fired 20 shots at the officer and escaped when one of the bullets hit the police car’s tire. The officer was not injured.
Later that day, the Dougherty gang allegedly robbed a Valdosta, Ga., bank while wearing masks and firing rounds at the ceiling from an AK-47 rifle.
Police caught up with the three on Aug. 10, 2011 in Colorado after receiving a tip that they had been spotted buying camping equipment. After a 20-mile chase down a Colorado Interstate, the Doughertys’ car flipped over and landed on top of a guard rail.
The siblings share a lengthy criminal history that included 20 felonies among them before the additional 70 charges they racked up from their 2011 crime spree. Their previous charges range from drug possession to battery and burglary.
Three Florida siblings involved in a cross-country crime spree were sentenced by a federal judge Monday to more than 35 years in jail.
Senior Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Ryan Dougherty, Lee Grace Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty Stanley to identical sentences for their role in the August 2011 robbery of a South Georgia bank. Their spree began in Florida and ended in a shootout in Colorado.
Lawson went beyond normal sentencing guidelines, saying that even though the trio was young and impulsive, the “escapade” could not be condoned.
“Let me say this – this was a crazy dangerous thing,” Lawson said from the bench. “I just think it is a miracle that no one was killed.”
Dylan Dougherty Stanley and Lee Grace Dougherty did not voice opposition to the sentence, but Ryan Dougherty called the judge’s decision rash and “not in line with the crimes I’ve committed.”
Before the sentences were announced, the three siblings apologized to the employees at the Valdosta bank where the robbery took place. Dylan Dougherty Stanley acknowledged that it was a “scary situation” for them.
Lawson sentenced each sibling to 35 years and 8 months, and to five years of supervised release after their prison sentences. He said that with good conduct they could get out of jail after 30 years.
The three have already pleaded guilty to Colorado charges stemming from their capture in August 2011. Ryan Dougherty got 18 years, Lee Grace Dougherty received 24 years and Dylan Dougherty Stanley got 32 years for those charges.
They still face charges in Florida, where they are accused of shooting at an officer during a high-speed chase.
The sentencing hearing took more than two hours, and all three siblings were in the courtroom. Ryan Dougherty and Lee Grace Dougherty wore orange prison uniforms; Dylan Dougherty Stanley wore a gray-striped one. All were handcuffed and in leg chains.
Attorneys for the siblings argued that certain factors should not have been considered in their sentence, including what they did in Colorado. The attorneys argued with the judge about whether their high-speed chase and shootout there a week after the robbery was part of their “immediate flight” after the Valdosta bank robbery.
Lawson rejected the objections and said the three were in Colorado because they were in “continuous flight.”
The siblings became wanted fugitives Aug. 2, 2011, when they fled from a police officer trying to pull over their car for speeding northeast of Tampa, Fla. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph, and at least 20 gunshots were fired from the fleeing car at the pursuing officer. The suspects got away after a bullet burst a tire on the police car.
A few hours after the chase and 210 miles away, the three fugitives put on masks and sunglasses before storming into the Certus Bank in Valdosta. Security cameras recorded Stanley, armed with an AK-47 style assault rifle, and his sister, with a machine pistol, firing one shot apiece into the ceiling.
Their brother, meanwhile, stuffed $5,168 from teller drawers into a tool bag, and the three escaped. No one was injured.
The hunt ended eight days after it began when two retired law officers in Colorado spotted the suspects in the San Isabel National Forest. The fugitives again tried to escape, leading police on a 20-mile chase on Interstate 25 that ended in Walsenburg, about 150 miles south of Denver.
Shots were fired at the officers before troopers used spike strips to puncture the tires of the suspects’ Subaru. Lee Dougherty bolted from the crash on foot. An officer shot her in the leg after she pointed a pistol at him, authorities said.
In court Monday, the lawyer for Lee Grace Dougherty said she pointed her weapon at the officer in Colorado only because she was afraid someone would shoot her brother and because she was suicidal and wanted police to shoot her.
John Gee Edwards, a Valdosta attorney, told the judge that the three siblings endured an abusive childhood and that Lee Grace Dougherty had been hospitalized for depression and anxiety.
Dougherty Gang Photos
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