HAYWARD — Homicide investigators here had run into a potential problem.
They were sure that the man responsible for the Feb. 2 death of 68-year-old Rolando Silva Sr. was his longtime friend, Larry Lopez, who was seen bringing his gun into Silva’s home just minutes before the fatal shot was fired. But Lopez’s lawyer was claiming Silva had actually died of suicide.
When detectives swabbed the gun for DNA, the murder case was dealt another blow: Skin cells on the trigger were matched to Silva, not Lopez, the undisputed owner of the firearm.
“The DNA kind of supports (a finding) of a suicide … the DNA on the trigger is actually the decedent’s,” Hayward police Detective Dominick Reichmuth recounted to a county medical examiner last May, according to court records. But a motion by Lopez’s attorney claims Reichmuth added a thought: “There’s other ways around it.”
That utterance by Reichmuth is now part of an ongoing effort by Lopez’s attorney to prove not only that Silva shot himself with Lopez’s gun, but that Hayward police drafted falsified sworn statements, suppressed evidence and pressured the Alameda County coroner to aid a case against him by ruling the death a homicide. Lopez was held to answer on a murder charge at his July preliminary hearing, but a week later another judge made the rare move of lowering Lopez’s bail to $50,000, clearing the way for his release as the case inches toward trial.
Lopez is accused of bringing his gun into Silva’s garage on the 500 block of Ramos Avenue. Witnesses heard them talking, followed by a gunshot, then by Lopez screaming, “What did you do?” in Spanish, before running to his car and driving off.
In a subsequent police interview, he lied repeatedly, denying being present for the shooting and never mentioning anything about a suicide, both the prosecution and defense agree. The defense claims this was a decision motivated by shock and fear but that police picked up on his lies and assumed he was a killer.
Now, court filings by Deputy Public Defender Sydney Levin accuse Reichmuth of writing up affidavits, signed under penalty of perjury, that claimed that Silva’s blood extended to a bathroom at his Hayward home and that the sink had been “notably” left on, implying Lopez must have covered up the crime. Photographs of the crime scene show blood spattered directly in front of where Silva’s body was found, with no blood visible past a kitchen doorway adjacent to Silva’s garage.
Levin’s motion suggests it would be difficult for someone to mistakenly suggest the blood trail extended that far.
“From the kitchen doorway, one must turn right, cross through the kitchen, enter (the) hallway, and then turn right again to get into the bathroom,” Levin wrote.
Levin’s filings, a Pitchess motion and sworn declaration she signed, are based on audio recordings, crime scene photos, and other evidence supplied by police and prosecutors, she wrote. A spokesman for Hayward police said Pitchess motions, which deal with potential police misconduct, “may contain mere allegations not necessarily based on facts or evidence,” but declined to comment further.
The motion also says Detective Justin Green “intended to, and in fact did, sway the coroner’s office to erroneously designate this death as a homicide” by telling coroner officials that witnesses reported two people were in the garage with Silva, and that one of them cried out “What did you do?” after the shooting. In fact, Levin added, the witnesses and video evidence clearly established that Silva and Lopez were alone together, and that it was Lopez who cried out upon returning from a bathroom and finding his longtime friend with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Levin has filed a motion to examine any evidence that Green and Reichmuth exhibited racial bias, or were involved in fabrications of evidence or illegal search and seizure in other cases. A judge is set to rule on the motion Friday morning.
Lopez’s preliminary hearing, which went from July 9 to 11, “raised more questions than perhaps it’s answered,” Alameda County Judge Paul Delucchi said at the hearing’s end. He said the case was a “head scratcher” but questioned why Silva’s suicide seemed so spontaneous, ultimately deciding to uphold the murder charge.
“No explanation. No suicide note … nothing that would (have) indicated that he was prepared to and was going to take his own life that morning,” Delucchi said. He also questioned why, if Lopez had witnessed his friend die of suicide, would he not only flee without calling 911 or seek help, but later lie to police. Deputy District Attorney Sameer Shukla argued the lying demonstrated a “consciousness of guilt” that pointed toward murder.
But days later, a stunning court filing by Levin addressed some of the judge’s queries.
Levin cited police interviews with Silva’s family, who talked about how he’d been depressed for a month, how he’d made suicidal ideations in the past and how family members years had hidden sharp objects and weapons from him out of concern he’d harm himself.
Just one week before his death, Silva’s wife had discovered that he had a secret son from an affair in Nicaragua, and had been paying child support for years without her knowledge, according to police interviews with family. Days earlier, Silva had opted to stay behind in Hayward as his wife, children and grandchildren all left on a family vacation to Miami. His death occurred before they returned, Levin’s motion says.
A Feb. 6 interview with Silva’s son backed up this theory, Levin wrote.
“It was also during this conversation that Rolando Silva Jr. told Reichmuth that he believed his father had died by suicide, and that he believed Mr. Silva had tricked Mr. Lopez into bringing Mr. Lopez’ gun to Mr. Silva’s house under false pretenses, then used Mr. Lopez’ (gun) to kill himself while Mr. Lopez was in the bathroom,” Levin wrote.
Levin only found out about this conversation on July 8, one day before the preliminary hearing; Reichmuth was expected to testify, though he ended up not taking the stand. For the four months between the Feb. 6 interview and the preliminary hearing, Levin said, she’s sought out evidence from police and prosecutors that backed up the defense theory of suicide. But the report was kept from her during this time, she wrote.
“Instead, Reichmuth only mentioned that he spoke with Rolando Silva Jr. on the phone on the day of Mr. Silva’s death, Feb. 2, 2025, and that on the day of the death, Rolando Silva Jr. expressed disbelief that his father would kill himself,” Levin wrote.