AUGUSTA — Awaiting trial on charges of killing a Readfield man and burning his house down, a Massachusetts man is now accused of assaulting a corrections officer at the Kennebec County jail and smearing his own feces inside his cell.

David Brian Silva Jr., 33, was charged Thursday with assault on an officer, aggravated criminal mischief and terrorizing, according to an affidavit filed in Augusta District Court by Sgt. Michael Pion of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.

Additional Photos

Awaiting trial on charges of killing a Readfield man and burning his house down, David Brian Silva Jr., 33, was charged Thursday with assault on an officer, aggravated criminal mischief and terrorizing, according to an affidavit filed in Augusta District Court by Sgt. Michael Pion of the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office.

Silva was scheduled to make an initial court appearance via video on those charges Friday in Augusta District Court. But that didn’t happen.

“Mr. Silva is refusing to leave his cell and refusing to speak to me — vehemently, I might add,” attorney Scott Gurney told Justice Beth Dobson at that hearing.

Dobson found probable cause to believe the offenses occurred and to believe that Silva committed them. However, the judge did not set another court date; instead, she ordered him held on a warrant until he appears before a judge.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Kelley Poulin warned that scheduling a specific hearing date could require officers to transport Silva to court, putting themselves in danger.

Pion’s affidavit says Silva hit a corrections officer in the chest with his head and told another he was going to kill him. Silva then smeared his own feces throughout his cell, Pion said. Several officers, wearing hazmat suits, cleaned it up, Pion said.

“The extra work required to clean the cell causes a substantial disruption in service to the facility and further places those employees tasked with the cleanup at risk,” Pion said.

Pion said the incident was recorded on video.

This was the second time Silva has refused to appear in court on charges that originated while he was in jail, Poulin told the judge.

Records show Silva was charged in October 2011 with terrorizing and failure to sign a summons and complaint. The alleged victim is the same officer Silva is accused of assaulting on Thursday.

The state attorney general’s office is prosecuting the separate case in which Silva is accused of killing Robert A. Orr, 53. Orr was shot in the head on Feb. 8, 2011, as he sat in a living room chair inside his Readfield home.

Silva is accused of then setting the house on fire.

Orr’s remains were discovered the next day as investigators sifted through the debris of the flattened Church Road home.

Silva and his girlfriend, Lindsay Spence, of Plymouth, Mass., had moved into Orr’s home a few weeks before the killing.

Silva has been in custody since he was arrested in his hometown of Carver, Mass., a day after the murder.

A Kennebec County grand jury in March 2011 indicted Silva on charges of murder, arson, robbery and theft. A trial on those charges has been delayed as two previous defense attorneys stopped representing Silva. His attorney, William Maselli, who has represented Silva since January, said his client is scheduled for a conference hearing Wednesday.

“We should have a better idea of where we are at after that,” Maselli said Friday.

Lt. Ryan Reardon, assistant jail administrator, said the investigation into Silva’s most recent activities is ongoing, and he is likely to face additional charges.

Silva’s alleged outburst on Thursday started in the recreation yard in response to general rules and policies, Reardon said.

“He threw a basketball at a corrections officer,” Reardon said.

Silva’s head-butt and threat occurred as officers took him to his cell, Reardon said. Silva was alone in his cell when he spread the feces. He was then moved to a cell where he could be restrained. Silva reportedly spit on a corrections officer during that process.

“We took the necessary steps to protect him,” Reardon said.

Silva’s alleged rampage continued Friday when he reportedly spat on another officer, again spread feces in his cell, tried to clog a toilet and attempted to break a sprinkler head.

“He’s a significant risk,” Reardon said. “He’s a documented violent offender.”

Silva in June 2011 complained about living conditions at the jail during an interview with the Kennebec Journal. He said his longest stretch of freedom since turning 16 occurred between 2008 — when he was released from a California prison after being convicted of false imprisonment with violence — and his February 2011 arrest on the murder charge.

“It doesn’t suit my needs,” Silva said of the jail. “It’s a real small facility. I’m used to big facilities.”

Silva, a white supremacist who has the tattoos SKIN HEAD on his knuckles and “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” on his arm, is classified as a maximum security inmate because of the charges he faces, his criminal history and his behavior in jail.

Kennebec County Chief Deputy Everett Flannery said last year that Silva was trying to find ways to be moved to a different facility. Reardon believes the most recent behavior represents a renewal of that attempt to be moved elsewhere.

Silva was sent to the Maine State Prison in Warren at one point, but was later returned to Kennebec County, Reardon said.

“We have the staff to manage him,” Reardon said. “He would be getting the same treatment anywhere based on Department of Corrections standards.”

Reardon said Silva has not been fiercely violent toward corrections officers, but knows how to provoke and cause substantial havoc.

“He has pronounced institutional behavior,” Reardon said. “He knows what to do to get these reactions.”

Related Stories