August 12, 2026

Prison officer testifies

Claude Council Jr. on Friday told the Carson District Court jury that he saw Richard Paul Irvine leave Silva's cell area.

Irvine later committed suicide, but two other inmates, Tony Martin Smith and Robert Rowland, are on trial and face the death penalty if convicted of Silva's murder.

Council said Irvine was "teary and shaking real bad" as he left Silva's cell.

Rowland and Smith have denied they had anything to do with Silva's death. Investigators say the two were key members of a white-supremacist gang called GFBD, which stands for God Forgives, Brothers Don't.

They allegedly were angry with Silva for selling his methadone pills to one group of inmates but not to others.

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