Man kills Sonic employees after accusations of fake order led to arrest, NE cops say
A man has pleaded guilty to the 2020 fatal shooting of two employees at a Sonic Drive-In restaurant, Nebraska officials say. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the 24-year-old.
Three days before the Nov. 21, 2020, shooting, prosecutors say Roberto Silva Jr. attempted to use another person’s identity and Sonic Drive-In account to buy food.
Silva was arrested after attempting to steal the $57 worth of food after employees alerted police to “fraudulent activity,” The Associated Press reported. Police confiscated multiple firearms and kept them in police custody, according to WOWT.
Silva was released on bond on Nov. 20, 2020.
One day later, Silva opened fire at the same Bellevue Sonic, striking four employees and killing Ryan Helbert and Nathan Pastrana, court records show.
Silva threw “an incendiary device” and set a rental truck on fire before shooting inside the restaurant, the release said. Three employees were able to escape without injury during the shooting.
According to prosecutors, Silva described his motive in a letter sent to Deputy Sarpy County Attorney Gage Cobb on Oct. 4, 2021.
“It is my understanding that you don’t have a motive for my actions,” Silva wrote, according to prosecutors. “My intention and motive was to kill the witnesses involved … to conceal the commission of that crime.”
On March 7, Silva pleaded guilty to identity theft, two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson, as well as several other charges related to the shooting, which waived his right to a trial by jury. Prosecutors still plan to seek the death penalty, the release said.
“Roberto Silva knowingly walked into a restaurant that day and killed two people and injured two others,” Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said in the release. “The death penalty case will move forward.”
A panel of district court judges appointed by Nebraska’s Supreme Court will determine if the death penalty is warranted for the case, the release said.
Silva remains in jail until sentencing, officials said.
Bellevue is a suburb of Omaha.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Man kills Sonic employees after accusations of fake order led to arrest, NE cops say."
