Stockton’s mayor can’t keep his guns locked up, and at least one of them has been identified as the weapon used to kill a child.
A firearm stolen from Anthony Silva was the weapon used to kill a 13-year-old boy last year, the Stockton Record reported on Saturday. It was lifted in one of two gun thefts from the mayor’s property in as many years.
Rayshawn Harris, known as Ray Ray, was gunned down by the mayor’s .40 caliber Beretta pistol in South Stockton on Feb. 23, 2015. He was walking out of his house on his way to school. His father told the media that Rayshawn was a special needs student, and that he’d done all he could to protect his son.
“A few moments ago I was notified by the media that one of my stolen guns were used in a murder,” Silva wrote on Facebook. “Words cannot describe my sorrow and heartbreak for the victim and his family. I feel terrible and I feel sick to my stomach.”
On Saturday night, he posted a seemingly related article about weapons missing from the Stockton police and other agencies.
“I hope everyone takes the time to watch this,” he wrote.
Silva did not report the theft of his firearm until a month after the child was killed, according to information obtained by the Record. He only called it in to police on March 22. But the gun was also used on Jan. 15 of that year, according to the public records request.
“If the mayor’s gun was indeed stolen, it underscores the importance of the responsibilities that come with 2nd amendment rights to secure weapons and to immediately report to authorities when [they are] missing to prevent tragedies like this from happening,” Michael Tubbs, a city council member who is challenging Silva in the mayoral race, said in a statement.
Mark Reichel, Silva’s attorney, did not return a request for comment.
Silva rents out the property where the thefts occurred. He also told the Stockton Record that a theft occurred on March 24, 2015—just days after Silva reported the first gun missing. And in February, the mayor reported that yet another weapon had been stolen from the rental property.
Silva told the Record in April, when news of his gun thefts first broke, that he had “an idea” of who stole the second gun.
The gun used to kill Harris was recovered by police during a domestic disturbance call on June 9. The second gun has not been recovered.
Silva, a Republican, has been mayor of Stockton since 2013. But his tenure has been marred by controversy. He’s trailing Tubbs, a relative newcomer, in his re-election bid.
At a mayoral debate in April, Silva—who faces a black challenger in the race—called himself the “first African-American mayor of Stockton.”
“I think I said, I’m not African American, but I’m pretty darn close. Quite frankly, I could be determined to be the first African-American mayor of Stockton. And the audience got a bit excited,” Silva told a local CBS affiliate. His opponent Tubbs said he assumed the mayor was joking.
A 19-year-old woman accused Silva of touching her inappropriately and giving her mixed drinks in 2011. Silva denied those allegations and was never charged.
On his way home from a trip to China in September 2015, Silva’s laptops and cellphone were seized by federal investigators at San Francisco International Airport. They were later returned, but his attorney said he didn’t know why Silva was on the federal government’s radar.
And in December 2014, the mayor was aboard a limousine with a heavily-intoxicated crew when the driver had to call 911 over havoc in the back of his car. He estimated up to $10,000 in damage, including ripped seats and blood stains. One of Silva’s entourage was charged for the mess, but Silva gave the cops an earful, the driver said. Silva did not comment on the incident at the time.
“He was just telling them that he was the mayor, and they told him you just need to sit down, we don’t care who you are, you need to sit down and be quiet,” the driver said. “He was just pretty much being arrogant.”