Orcas man, convicted a decade ago of vehicular homicide, faces felony DUI
An Orcas Island man who caused the death of his younger brother while driving drunk 10 years ago will be back in court to stand trial on a charge of felony DUI.
On March 6, Michael Clarence Silvas, 43, pleaded innocent in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of felony DUI, a Class C felony. Bail was set at $5,000 and Silvas is slated to stand trial May 26.
If convicted, he would face up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
Silvas was arrested Feb. 21 for DUI following a late-night traffic stop in the 300 block of Enchanted Forest Road. He was pulled over at about 11:30 p.m. for failing to use a turn signal.
According to authorities, Silvas failed a series of field sobriety tests at the scene and had a blood-alcohol level which was more than twice the legal after being taken into custody.
In 1999, Silvas pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide following a crash on Horseshoe Highway in which his younger brother, Matthew, 31 at the time, was thrown from their vehicle and died at the scene. Silvas, who, according to court documents, was intoxicated at the time of that crash, was pinned under the vehicle and seriously injured.
Silvas was sentenced to 31 months in prison as a result of the conviction. He was arrested for DUI six days after the 10-year anniversary of the fatal crash which claimed the life of his brother.
— Scott Rasmussen
Orcas woman to serve 10 days for forgery
A 19-year-old Orcas Island woman who used a check from an ex-roommate’s closed account to pay for $73 of groceries was sentenced to 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to felony forgery.
On Feb. 13, Vanessa Ann Kirk, 19, pleaded guilty in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of forgery, a Class C felony, and was ordered to serve 10 days in jail and to pay $1,074 in fines, fees and restitution. She will be allowed to serve 10 days on work crew in lieu of jail, and at her own expense.
A Class C felony, forgery carries maximum penalties of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both; however, the standard range of sentencing set by the state is 0-60 days. Kirk, who had no prior criminal history, qualified as a first-time offender for a reduced sentence.
According to court documents, Kirk and her ex-roommate had a falling out early in the year which prompted the other woman to move out of the home they shared. She reportedly found a wallet among the other woman’s belongings, which contained a debit card and check book, and then took and kept it.
In late January, Kirk, according to court documents, initially tried to use the debit card to pay for $73 of groceries at the Country Corner store. When she couldn’t complete the transaction with the debit card she then forged the woman’s signature one of the stolen checks to pay the bill.
Authorities were alerted about the forgery case by the other woman, a bank employee, after co-workers notified her that the bank had received a $73 check bearing her name and that had been cashed at Country Corner. That checking account had been closed by the woman sometime earlier. Kirk was caught making the fraudulent transaction by the store’s surveillance camera.
