Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

July 27, 2012

Man held in Maine murder accused of police assault

By BETTY ADAMS and CRAIG CROSBY / Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA – A Massachusetts man awaiting trial on charges of killing a Readfield man and burning the victim's house down is now accused of assaulting a corrections officer at the Kennebec County jail and smearing his own feces inside his cell.

David Brian Silva Jr., 33, was charged Thursday with assault on an officer, aggravated criminal mischief and terrorizing, according to an affidavit filed in Augusta District Court by Sgt. Michael Pion of the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office.

Silva was scheduled to make an initial court appearance via video on those charges Friday in Augusta District Court. But that didn't happen.

"Mr. Silva is refusing to leave his cell and refusing to speak to me -- vehemently, I might add," attorney Scott Gurney told Justice Beth Dobson at that hearing.

Dobson found probable cause to believe the offenses occurred and to believe that Silva committed them. However, the judge did not set another court date; instead, she ordered him held on a warrant until he appears before a judge.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Kelley Poulin warned that scheduling a hearing date could require officers to transport Silva to court, putting themselves in danger.

Pion's affidavit says Silva hit a corrections officer in the chest with his head and told another he was going to kill him. Silva then smeared his own feces throughout his cell, Pion said. Several officers, wearing hazmat suits, cleaned it up, Pion said.

The incident was recorded on video, he said.

This was the second time Silva has refused to appear in court on charges that originated while he was in jail, Poulin told the judge.

Records show Silva was charged in October 2011 with terrorizing and failure to sign a summons and complaint. The alleged victim was the same officer Silva is accused of assaulting on Thursday.

The state attorney general's office is prosecuting the separate case in which Silva is accused of killing Robert A. Orr, 53. Orr was shot in the head on Feb. 8, 2011, as he sat in a living room chair inside his Readfield home.

Silva is accused of then setting the house on fire.

Orr's remains were discovered the next day as investigators sifted through the debris of the flattened Church Road home.

Silva and his girlfriend, Lindsay Spence, of Plymouth, Mass., had moved into Orr's home a few weeks before the killing.

Silva has been in custody since he was arrested in his hometown of Carver, Mass., a day after the murder.

A Kennebec County grand jury in March 2011 indicted Silva on charges of murder, arson, robbery and theft.

A trial on those charges has been delayed as two previous defense attorneys stopped representing Silva.

Lt. Ryan Reardon, assistant jail administrator, said the investigation into Silva's most recent activities is ongoing, and he is likely to face additional charges.

Silva's alleged outburst on Thursday started in the recreation yard in response to general rules and policies, Reardon said.

"He threw a basketball at a corrections officer. "He's a significant risk," Reardon said. "He's a documented violent offender."

 

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Betty Adams can be contacted at 621-5631, or at:

badams@centralmaine.com

 

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Craig Crosby can be contacted at 621-5642, or at:

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

 

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