Tag: Roberto Carlos Silva Jr

Roberto Silva Jr Pleads Guilty In Sonic Murders

Roberto Silva Jr sonic

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.

https://www.kwtx.com/2022/03/08/man-pleads-guilty-shooting-killing-2-sonic-drive-in-employees-deadly-restaurant-attack/

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.

https://www.ketv.com/article/roberta-silva-jr-pleads-guilty-to-all-15-counts-in-deadly-bellevue-sonic-shooting/39361151

Roberto Carlos Silva Jr Facing Death Penalty For Sonic Shooting

Roberto Carlos Silva Jr sonic shooting

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 More News

The Sarpy County Attorney’s office announced Monday that the county will seek the death penalty when prosecuting the suspect of the November 2020 shooting that left two restaurant employees dead and another two seriously hurt.

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.

https://www.wowt.com/2022/01/24/sarpy-county-seeking-death-penalty-november-2020-sonic-shooting/