SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY — The State of California Department of Justice arrested former Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva Thursday night for violating the terms of a protective order issued against him.
Records show he was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail at 9:53 p.m. He faces charges of being in possession of a registered gun at his home. The protective order out of Amador County makes him ineligible to own a gun. His bail is set at $53,000.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Robert Himelblau described the gun as an “AR-15-type rifle.” The check was part of a routine sweep by the state Department of Justice.
Lee Neves, Silva’s campaign manager that helped him win in 2012, says the whole situation is unfortunate.
“As the old saying goes, if it weren’t for bad luck there would be no luck at all,” Neves said.
Silva reached a plea deal in August of last year after facing misdemeanors in relation to accusations that he illegally recorded a game of strip poker played among teenage camp counselors at his Stockton kids camp in Amador County back in 2015 and contributed to the delinquency of minors by providing alcohol to them.
“Essentially, this was a business and profession code section where he did 48 hours of community service. He didn’t realize that gun ownership is impacted in any way,” Silva’s attorney Allen Sawyer said.
It’s up to the San Joaquin District Attorney’s Office whether or not to file charges against Silva.
Last year, Silva was accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the after-school kids program he ran.
Meanwhile, Neves says he doesn’t envision any kind of political future for Silva.
“It is deader than the piece of roadkill on the side of the road and that’s just the truth,” Neves said.
Stay with FOX40 for more updates on this developing story.
