Steven Jay Silva, 53, was sentenced in U.S. District Court
in Medford Wednesday morning to five years of probation for his role in buying
illicit firearms from undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents
last summer. The guns included a sawed-off shotgun and a silencer Silva
believed to be unmarked and unregistered.
Silva, who police believe was president of the Southern
Oregon chapter of the Mongols MC during the summer of 2017, bought six guns,
including the sawed-off shotgun, Aug. 14 of last year.
In September 2017, Silva reportedly coordinated a drug and
gun buy with undercover agents, which reportedly included 400 OxyContin pills,
90 Vicodin pills, three revolvers and a silencer for which Silva paid $2,050.
A search warrant executed at his home in the 1000 block of
Edwina Avenue yielded multiple photos and memorabilia related to his motorcycle
gang membership, including his “cut” or vest.
ATF agents say Silva’s patches show him to be “one of the
founding Mongols of the Southern Oregon chapter,” before delineating other
patches related to the roughly 600-member gang headquartered in central
California, which has rivalries with the Hells Angels, the Outlaws and the Sons
of Silence, according to ATF agents.
Silva’s “Respect Few, Fear None” patch is typically earned
when someone engages in violence on behalf of the gang; and the wing patches on
his vest “are earned when someone engages in various sex acts with a woman in
front of other Mongol members.”
Silva professes to have resigned from the club since he was
charged last year. In court filings, his public defender, Brian Butler, argued
that Silva has completed drug treatment, maintained full-time employment and
has complied with terms of his pretrial release.
SOURCE: Mail Tribune