ESCONDIDO : Ex-Firefighter Gets 3 Years in Prison
A former Escondido firefighter was sentenced Tuesday to three years in state prison for his second methamphetamine conviction in two years.
Shawn Silva, 30, who had been free on $10,000 bond, surrendered to authorities after he was sentenced in San Diego Superior Court.
Silva worked for the Escondido Fire Department for six years until being fired after his April 17, 1990, arrest on methamphetamine and weapon charges. He was convicted in a jury trial in 1991 and sentenced to one year in County Jail and five years’ probation.
Then, Silva and co-defendant Michael Debreceni, 28, both pleaded guilty March 3 to possession of 2 pounds of methamphetamine that was seized during a Nov. 19 sale in the parking lot of a Rancho Bernardo restaurant. Debreceni will be sentenced May 28.
Judge Fred Link found Silva in violation of terms of his probation by his second arrest only months after his release from jail. Link imposed a 16-month sentence, but ordered it to run concurrently.
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