Cordaryl Silva knows what led Derby police to charge him in the shooting death of his cousin outside a Derby bar last month.
The public does not — and won’t for some time.
Silva — charged with a single count of murder in connection with the death of his second cousin, 22-year-old Javon Zimmerman, outside RJ’s Cafe on Elizabeth Street May 12 — appeared briefly at Superior Court in Milford just after noon Tuesday before Judge Richard Arnold. He nodded to family members in the gallery after being led into the courtroom by marshals.
During his appearance Judge Arnold appointed New Haven lawyer Lawrence Hopkins as a special public defender in the case. On Tuesday morning Silva’s original public defender, David Egan, asked to withdraw from the matter, citing a conflict.
Silva, who has since his arrest been given an edited version of the warrant charging him with murder, also waived a probable cause hearing in the case Tuesday.
When a person is charged with murder, the state must hold a hearing at which a judge determines there’s probable cause to believe the person committed the crime.
That is, unless the defendant waives the hearing, like Silva did.
The specific details of the investigation — involving eyewitness testimony, forensic evidence, and alleged video surveillance footage that put Silva at the scene — is still hidden from public view, even though Silva himself has seen a version of the document.
In court Tuesday, prosecutor Charles Stango said he’d be filing a motion to keep the the warrant in the case secret.
Judge Arnold ordered the warrant sealed for 14 days last Monday when he signed it. Police said at the time the document was sealed to protect the identity of witnesses in the case.
Since then, Silva has been provided with a copy of the warrant with certain information in it redacted, Stango revealed in court Tuesday.
The prosecutor declined to release the redacted version publicly afterward.
After being informed of Silva’s decision to waive the probable cause hearing, Judge Arnold quizzed Silva to make sure he understood.
“You intend to waive (the hearing) and continue with the discovery process?” he asked.
“Yes,” Silva replied.
After Silva’s appearance, Hopkins said the decision was a routine one.
“It’s ordinary rather than extraordinary,” he said outside the courthouse. “It’d be extraordinary if we asked for a hearing.”
Silva will return to court July 25.
Silva’s family members, who released an statement asking for prayers and patience after his arraignment in the case last week, declined comment after court Tuesday.
