Ex-Stockton mayor arrested on firearm charge

Former Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva was arrested late Thursday after he was found in possession of a firearm, in violation of the terms of a no contact order issued against him last year, according to his attorney, Allen Sawyer.

Silva was taken into custody by the California Department of Justice and booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on a felony weapons possession charge and a misdemeanor charge for possessing ammunition, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department.

He was released early Friday morning on a $53,000 bond.

Silva was arrested at his home, Sawyer said, as officers were conducting a check on whether a firearm registered to Silva was still in his possession. Sawyer said Silva was unaware that California law prohibits those who have had a no contact order issued against them from owning a firearm.

The no contact order was a result of Silva’s arrest in Amador County in August of 2016 on charges stemming from a strip-poker game that prosecutors said he held with teen counselors at his camp for Mayor’s Youth Camp the previous year.

Silva was charged with recording confidential communications, a felony, and three misdemeanors: contributing to the delinquency of a minor, furnishing alcohol to a person younger than 21 and child endangerment.

As a part of a plea agreement, Silva pleaded no contest to the charge of furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 and was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service.

“At the time of his sentencing, the (District Attorney) in Amador County asked to have a no contact order between Mr. Silva and the individuals who drank alcohol,” Sawyer said in a statement. “The government now claims that Mr. Silva is prevented from owning guns because he was restrained to not contact someone. Mr. Silva received no notice of this legal restriction.”

A court date has not yet been set.