Palm Springs Casino DUI Fatality Sees Elderly Man Face Up To Life in Prison

Posted on: October 10, 2021, 07:35h. 

Last updated on: October 11, 2021, 10:27h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

An 86-year-old man convicted of killing a pedestrian in a 2019 California DUI case has been sentenced to between 15 years and life in prison. The crash outside of the Agua Caliente Casino also left a second woman seriously injured.

The 86-year-old man was convicted of killing one pedestrian and injuring another
Palm Springs, Calif.’s Agua Caliente Casino, pictured above. A man was sentenced last week for 15 years to life in connection with a traffic fatality outside the casino. (Image: Cactus Hugs)

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dale Wells revealed the sentence on Friday to defendant Leroy Silva of Palm Springs, according to City News Service, a California news agency. Silva could have faced a sentence of up to 23 years to life in prison.

Last month, Silva was convicted by a jury for murder, DUI causing bodily injury, and DUI causing bodily injury with a blood-alcohol level of more than .08 percent. He was also found guilty of two counts of hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, and sentence-enhancing allegations of causing great bodily injury.

The murder charge was added after the pedestrian died from injuries she suffered in the crash.

She was identified as Connie Clark, then 67, of Lemon Grove, Calif. The second woman was also 67.

Ladies Crossing the Street

The accident took place on July 27, 2019, as Silva was driving a black sedan. The women were crossing a street when he drove into them, police said.

Police located him in the car about a mile from the accident. Silva was arrested. He remains in custody at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio. Wells ordered him to be held without bail.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians owns the Agua Caliente Casino.

Recent Casino Crimes

The same casino has been the site of other crimes over the last 12 months. Last October, Palm Springs police officers shot alleged armed robbers there after an Agua Caliente Casino heist.

The duo was trying to speed away from the parking garage at the casino when they were wounded, police said. One of the bandits was carrying a handgun. They had allegedly just robbed a woman at gunpoint.

While in the garage, the duo approached the victim, who was standing by her car. They snuck up behind her, allegedly covered her mouth, and placed a firearm up to the side of her body, local police said in a Facebook post.

They then allegedly grabbed her purse and tried to speed away in their white Honda Accord. The outcomes of their court cases were not immediately available.

The two suspected robbers attempted two other holdups at casinos that same night, police revealed.

One of the attempted holdups was at the same Palm Springs casino. In that incident, police were told that the two suspects approached a man, and one of the bandits pulled out a handgun and demanded the victim’s property, the Facebook post said.

The same bandits then went to Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, where they again attempted a robbery, police said.

Both of those attempts were unsuccessful, police said.