Nebraska: Prosecutor Pushes for Death Penalty for Man in Fast Food Shooting Leaving 2 Dead

A man in Nebraska, who was accused of killing two people at a fast food joint back in 2020 while leaving two others injured, could now face the death penalty if he gets convicted, according to the county attorney’s office this week.

On Monday, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov revealed that his office would seek to have Roberto Silva Jr., 24, be given the death penalty as he faces charges for first-degree murder in connection to the shooting that happened on Nov. 21, 2020, right outside a Sonic restaurant in Bellevue, according to WOWT-TV’s report.

At the incident, Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28, both of whom were employees, were killed. Meanwhile, two other individuals got injured during the incident. Three other employees managed to escape unharmed.

This is the first time Polikov would be seeking the death penalty even after being in elected office for 30 years.

“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,” Polikov mentioned during a news conference, per WOWT. “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,” he went on to say.

Silva is facing over a dozen charges. These include a couple of first-degree murder charges and five counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Ever since he was arrested, Silva has also been accused of attacking another inmate and hurling cups of excrement at guards, according to WOWT.

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