The police have arrested 23-year-old Roberta Carlos Silva Jr., for the shooting death of two restaurant workers and shooting injuries of two others. Silva was arrested after the Bellevue police department received reports of a possible bomb inside a moving truck that was on fire, and perhaps some gunfire at the Sonic Drive-in restaurant, in Omaha, Nebraska.
The event happened at 9:23 pm on Saturday night and Silva was arrested without incident around 9:37 pm that same night in the premises of the fast-food restaurant. The suspect was booked into the Sarpy County jail and arraigned in court on Sunday morning on possible charges of first-degree murder and first-degree arson. Four firearms were recovered from the scene but Silva was not armed at the time of his arrest, and he complied fully with police.
“Number one, he totally complied; number two, he was unarmed,” Bellevue Police Lieutenant Andy Jashinske said. “When officers did take him into custody or when they arrived at the scene there, and they had him out on his stomach when they told him to put his arms behind his back, he complied, he put arms by his back, and he was handcuffed. As I said, we did not find any weapons on him. We’re thankful for that.”
The two Sonic Drive-in restaurant employees that Silva shot dead were Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28. The two that were injured in the attack were Zoey Reece Atalig Lujan, 18, and Kenneth Gerner, 25. They were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for treatment. Another employee who was also wounded refused to be taken to hospital, KETV reports.
In the days preceding the attack, Silva had used another individual’s Sonic app account to purchase hamburgers and corn dogs worth $57 from the Sonic restaurant. Following his arraignment in court, he was released on Thursday after he posted 10% of his $1,500 bail. It is not clear if he has a lawyer to represent him. Jashinske said the police investigation is still ongoing, and the Sonic Drive-in in Oklahoma City expressed regrets at the shooting incident.
“We are stunned and saddened by what occurred at the Bellevue, NE, SONIC Saturday night,” Sonic said in a statement. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the franchise owner and the families and friends impacted by this horrific tragedy. The franchisee is working with law enforcement as they investigate the matter. We defer any further comment to the Bellevue Police Department in its ongoing investigation.”
Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike also offered his heartfelt condolences to the families of the shooting victims and the entire community, saying the police did a great job in getting to the scene promptly and arresting the suspect before further damage could be done.
Source: abcnews.go.com
