Photo: Firearms collected during arrest | Shasta County Sheriff’s Office
Originally Published By: Shasta County Sheriff’s Office
Firearm evidence collected | Shasta County Sheriff’s Office
“On Tuesday, May 30th, 2023, at approximately 4:30 PM, detectives with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force (SINTF) arrested Michael Jared Silva, age 42, of Bella Vista. An investigation revealed he was actively making arrangements to have sexual relations with a 15-year-old juvenile female. Silva was arrested when he arrived at the prearranged meeting location to pick up the juvenile. After Silva was taken into custody, a loaded handgun was located on the driver’s seat of the vehicle he was driving.
After learning Silva was armed, detectives authored a search warrant for his residence to determine if Silva had other firearms or other evidence of sexual crimes against children. Detectives served the search warrant at his residence and located 17 additional firearms and approximately 150,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers. One semi-automatic rifle had features making it illegal to possess. One of the handguns was a non-serialized “Ghost gun.” Detectives also located approximately 30 high-capacity magazines and illegal fireworks.
Silva was ultimately placed under arrest and charged with the following felonies: 288.4(a)(2) PC: Arranging to meet with a minor for sexual acts, 288.4(b) PC: Arranging to meet with a minor and arriving at the location for sexual acts, 12022(a)(1) PC: Armed during the commission of a felony, 30605 PC: Possession of an assault weapon, 32310(a) PC: Possession of large capacity magazines, and 18715 PC: Possession of a destructive device.
Silva was booked into the Shasta County Jail where he currently remains in custody with an enhanced bail amount of $300,000.00 dollars.”
