Suspected ice dealer didn’t work out as informant

Police and prosecutors said this week that they will be moving forward with a variety of drug charges against suspected ice dealer Robby Charles Silva, 45, of Kapa‘a.

Silva was first picked up Sept. 6, 2007, on suspicion of both first- and second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug when he reportedly tried to sell a small amount of ice to a police informant and was found with more than an ounce in his possession, according to Lt. Eric Shibuya of the Vice and Narcotics Division.

Kaua‘i Police Department officials released Silva pending investigation because they wanted to “flip” him and “cultivate him as an informant,” Shibuya said.

When that plan did not bear fruit, a warrant was issued and he was re-arrested on June 23.

The first-degree drug charge, levied because Silva reportedly possessed 34 grams of ice, is a Class-A felony that alone could put him in jail for up to 20 years.

The second-degree promotion charge has been amended to second-degree methamphetamine trafficking.

Both are Class-B felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but the new meth statute prescribes mandatory minimum jail time while promotion convictions could conceivably net only probation.

Silva is also accused of five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia because he had plastic bags and other similar items, Shibuya said.

Silva is currently not in custody, according to KPD records. Bail had been set at $100,000.

Shibuya said that Silva has a history of drug arrests and six prior criminal convictions: one for third-degree assault in 1994 and five for contempt of court between 1993 and 2005.

He appeared at a preliminary District Court hearing on June 26, where Judge Trudy Senda bound the case over to 5th Circuit Court, according to Deputy prosecuting attorney Mauna Kea Trask.

Silva will face arraignment and enter a guilty or not-guilty plea on July 8.