A Nebraska man accused of killing two people and injuring another two at a fast-food restaurant in 2020 could face the death penalty if convicted, according to the Sarpy County attorney's office.
Roberto Silva Jr., 24, faces first-degree murder charges from the Nov. 21, 2020 shooting outside of a Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Bellevue, Nebraska. Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said on Monday that his office would seek the death penalty for Silva, according to WOWT-TV in Omaha.
Sonic Drive-In employees Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28, were killed in the shooting. Two others were injured, and three employees escaped unharmed.
"I took these procedural steps today because I intend to seek the death penalty in this case," Polikov said in a news conference, according to WOWT. "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."
It's the first time that Polikov has sought the death penalty over his 30 years in office.
“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 said.
Silva faces more than a dozen charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of first-degree arson.
Authorities said that Silva “threw an incendiary device, ignited materials in a rental truck and opened fire," according to WOWT.
“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 said.
A jury or three-judge panel will determine if the aggravators are present if Silva is convicted. A three-judge panel will then make the final decision about whether the death penalty is warranted after a conviction, according to WOWT.
Since his arrest, Silva has been charged with attacking another inmate in jail. He's 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.
Silva has since been moved to Tecumseh state prison.
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