A well-known gang leader in Colorado was sentenced to life with an additional 98 years in prison on Monday.
John Anthony Silva, 35, was convicted of first-degree murder, violation of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, first-degree burglary, aggravated robbery, intimidating a witness and felony drug charges in early August.
During the course of the trial, the jury was walked through nearly two decades of Silva’s criminal activities, 12 years of which included a stint in prison for the manslaughter of a 16-year-old boy, Bobby Watson.
While on parole in August 2013, Silva and other gang members brutally murdered Gumercindo Munoz-Vizcaino by bludgeoning him to death with a medieval weapon known as a flail. They also repeatedly stabbed him, which caused him to bleed out.
One year later, Silva – who was still on parole - and other gang members robbed a coin store at gunpoint.
“Time and time again, Mr. Silva has proven he can’t function in our society,” Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said in a statement. “Even after the board released him on parole, he killed a man, robbed a store and operated a drug ring. The time is long past due that he be put behind bars for the rest of his life.”
All of the charges will run consecutively.
