Case for death penalty strengthened against Bellevue Sonic shooter

SARPY COUNTY, Neb. (KLKN) – Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov filed a “Notice of Aggravators” following previous motions to seek the death penalty against Bellevue Sonic Shooter, Roberto Silva, Jr.

SEE ALSO: Sarpy County Attorney seeks death penalty for Bellevue Sonic shooter

Silva opened fire at a Bellevue Sonic Drive-In near 15th Street and Cornhusker Road on Nov. 21, 2020.

Silva killed two employees and wounded two others, three were able to escape safely.

“Filing the ‘Notice of Aggravators’ is the next procedural step in this case. It provides notice to the defendant of the State’s grounds for seeking the death penalty in this case,” Polikov said.

The notice was filed on the following circumstances:

• The murders were committed in an effort to conceal the commission of a crime or to conceal the identity of the perpetrator of such crime
• The murders were especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, or manifested exceptional depravity by ordinary standards of morality and intelligence
• At the time the murders were committed, the offender also committed another murder
• The offender knowingly created a great risk of death to at least several persons
• The murders were committed knowingly to disrupt or hinder the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the enforcement of the laws

Recently, Silva pled guilty to the charge of identity theft.  He illegally used another person’s identity and Sonic Drive-In mobile account to obtain food from the same Sonic three days before the shootings occurred.

The judge sentenced Silva to six months in prison for that crime but credited him with six months of time served.

Silva remains in jail awaiting trial on the charges related to the shooting.