Marin County man indicted in death of suspected Penngrove slaying accomplice

A Marin County man suspected in the slaying of an 84-year-old Penngrove woman has been indicted in Arizona on a murder charge in the death of his suspected accomplice during a desert shootout with police.

Victor Silva, 27, of Novato is expected to be arraigned Monday in a Parker, Ariz., courtroom on suspicion of first-degree murder and fleeing officers in Saturday’s death of Stephanie Hill, 37, also of Novato.

Silva and Hill were wanted in the slaying of Olga Dinelli, who was found Feb. 26 bound and shot to death in her ransacked Penngrove home.

Authorities said the two were fleeing east on Interstate 10 in Riverside County late Saturday when they were spotted as wanted suspects. Hill was shot dead by a deputy following a high-speed chase that crossed state lines.

Silva was taken into custody and indicted Wednesday by a grand jury in Hill’s death, La Paz County Sheriff John Drum said. Under state law, a person committing a crime can be charged with murder if an accomplice is killed by a law enforcement officer, Drum said.

It was unclear whether Silva would be forced to stand trial in Arizona or be extradited to Sonoma County to face a possible murder charge in Dinelli’s slaying.

“When someone gets shot in Arizona, it becomes our case a bit,” Drum said Thursday.

Sonoma County prosecutor Brian Staebell said he’s issued a warrant for Silva but has not yet charged him in Dinelli’s killing. It’s possible that Silva would remain in the Arizona jail until legal proceedings in such a trial are concluded, he said.

Staebell would not release additional information about the Penngrove killing including whether Silva or Hill is the suspected shooter. A third person, John Bruno Martinez, 26, of Richmond, is charged with being an accessory after the fact. Martinez is being held in the Sonoma County jail.

An investigation by Sonoma County detectives is ongoing, he said.

“There is a crime scene and a vehicle in Arizona that will be analyzed,” Staebell said. “We will be looking at everything and making decisions about Mr. Silva’s involvement.”

La Paz County Attorney Tony Rogers did not respond to repeated phone calls Thursday and an email request for comment.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.