‘Free me:’ Silva sentenced for standoff

  Social media celebrity Bryan Silva, who prompted the first SWAT standoff of the year, was sentenced to one year and nine months of jail time October 18 in Charlottesville Circuit Court for possessing and brandishing an illegal firearm and disobeying the court. Silva’s attorney, John March, asked for a lesser sentence, arguing that the […]

Bryan Silva’s sentencing delayed

  Bryan Silva appeared in Charlottesville Circuit Court August 17 for sentencing on charges related to a January 3 SWAT standoff, in which the 25-year-old Facebook celebrity barricaded himself inside his Jefferson Park Avenue home for several hours while posting videos of the incident on his social media pages for his thousands of fans to […]

Local social media celebrity arrested again

Bryan Silva, the Vine and Facebook star notorious for broadcasting his January SWAT standoff on Jefferson Park Avenue to thousands of followers, has been arrested on a capias advising that he failed to comply with the Offender Aid and Restoration program. Around 1pm on June 14, Charlottesville police spokesperson Steve Upman says Silva turned himself […]

Bryan Silva pleads guilty, now under strict house arrest

Bryan Silva, the 25-year-old social media celebrity jailed after a January 3 SWAT standoff, pleaded guilty April 11 to brandishing and possessing a firearm. Though he has been denied bond twice since January, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Rick Moore agreed to release him from jail on a $20,000 bond and under a stricter than usual […]

Bryan Silva set to plead guilty

The 25-year-old social media celebrity charged with abducting his girlfriend and brandishing and possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon is set to enter a guilty plea April 11 at 1pm in Charlottesville Circuit Court, according to the court docket. SWAT teams and local police blocked off Bryan Silva’s Jefferson Park Avenue apartment during […]

Will the 9mm match? Bryan Silva goes to grand jury

  In a preliminary hearing for Bryan Silva, the 25-year-old social media celebrity who starred in an hours-long police standoff January 3, was denied bond—again. This time, his mother, Robin, was present to testify that she had no firearms at her Orange County home and Silva could come live with her if he were allowed […]

SWAT talk: Number of standoffs is ‘out of the norm’

The overall goal of any SWAT team is to save lives, says Lieutenant Steve Upman with the Charlottesville Police Department. The January 5 standoff between city, county and university police and a suspected bank robber marked the second standoff of the year. “The two callouts over the last few days are out of the norm […]

SWAT standoff: Local Internet celeb behind bars

Not one to shy away from a camera, a Charlottesville man and Internet celebrity had a more somber cameo than he’s used to during January 4 video appearances in Charlottesville General District Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. A day after a police standoff, which lasted several hours and required the presence of a […]