Man charged in 2020 Sonic shooting in Bellevue pleads guilty to all charges

PAPILLION, Neb. (WOWT) - The Sarpy County Attorney’s office on Monday announced that the man facing a potential death penalty sentence in a fatal shooting at a Bellevue Sonic has pled guilty to all charges.

Roberto Carlos Silva Jr. of Omaha was facing more than a dozen felony charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of first-degree arson in the Nov. 21, 2020, attack on the Bellevue Sonic Drive-In near 15th Street and Cornhusker Road. Authorities said Silva “threw an incendiary device, ignited materials in a rental truck and opened fire,” wounding four employees, two of whom died.

According to a news release from Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov’s office, the plea means the case won’t go to trial but doesn’t take the death penalty off the table during sentencing.

The Sarpy County Attorney’s office decided in January to seek the death penalty when prosecuting Silva for the shooting. Polikov said then that it was the first time in his 22-year career as County Attorney that he had sought the death penalty. He also said at the time that the list of aggravators identified by his team wouldn’t be released to the public until the case was filed in district court.

Polikov plans to still seek the death penalty for Silva, Monday’s release states.