OAKLAND — The defense’s theory in a Hayward murder case is starting to take shape: that the defendant was a witness to his close friend’s suicide, only to get blamed for the shooting.
Larry Lopez, 43, is in jail facing charges of murder in the death of 68-year-old Rolando Silva Sr., his friend, inside Silva’s Hayward garage. Police have accused Lopez of shooting Silva, then lying about Silva being alive and well during their final interaction; authorities also noted that jewelry and cash were missing from Silva’s home.
Related Articles
Attempted robbery ends in shootout at Oakland mall
Oakland man charged with crashing car into man in wheelchair, leaving victim for dead
East Bay man avoids prison for gun case he got after being shot in leg
East Bay man attempted to rape masseuse when told it wasn’t ‘that kind’ of massage parlor, police say
Alameda County jurors get pay cut: Daily rate dropping from $100 to $15 after state cuts funding
But Lopez’s attorney has come up with a counter-theory in court records, accusing police of blaming Lopez for something that wasn’t even a homicide. A failed motion to free Lopez from jail, authored by Deputy Public Defender Sydney Levin, says that after witnesses heard the gunshot that killed Silva, they also heard a man shout, “Oh my God, what did you do?”, and that Silva and Lopez were alone together when this happened.
“Mr. Silva had suffered from depression and he had been contemplating and preparing for his own death in the days before the shooting, including making arrangements for funeral costs and telling a relative that he felt he was going to die soon,” Levin wrote. “The timing of the shooting — while his own family was out of town and when Mr. Lopez was present to immediately discover his death — is consistent with an effort to spare his family from finding his body themselves.”
Levin admitted, however, that Lopez lied to the police about Silva being alive during their last interaction, a lie that is what cast investigators’ suspicion of Lopez in the first place. According to Levin, Lopez lied because he was “scared by what had happened in his presence.”
Judge Elena Condes denied Lopez’s motion for bail but allowed the defense to revisit the issue at a later date. Lopez is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in July, and remains jailed without bail in the meantime, court records show.
Police started investigating last Feb. 2, when Silva was found dead on a couch inside his home on the 500 block of Ramos Avenue in Hayward. Within 48 hours, Lopez went from a key witness to a leading suspect, court records show.
Lopez told police that Silva had come to him for assistance, and was scared to be home alone, when a day earlier someone had driven slowly by his home and yelled out, “coyote,” which Silva took to be a threat.
But when police brought Lopez into an interview room to repeat his story, he changed key details, contradicted what police knew from surveillance footage and became “evidently more nervous” to the point that detectives read him Miranda rights, and finally placed him under arrest, police said in court filings.
They also talked to Silva’s relative, who told police that Lopez was known to carry a gun in a bag that he was seen bringing with him into Silva’s home just before the shooting.
If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.