BULLHEAD CITY — A third teenager has entered a plea agreement less than two months after the stolen vehicle they occupied struck another head-on, resulting in the death of the other driver during a police pursuit in Bullhead City.
Matthew Silvas, 18, pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to manslaughter, reduced from second-degree murder in his indictment. Silvas also pleaded guilty to a vehicle theft-related charge.
Silvas admitted he knew the vehicle was stolen when its driver, Jesus Camacho, 15, collected him and three other teenagers in Kingman on Sept. 13. Deputy Mohave County Attorney Leah Nelson said the group of five looked for other vehicles to steal in Laughlin before a pair of police pursuits unfolded less than a half-hour apart in Bullhead City early the next morning.
A lengthy Arizona Department of Public Safety investigation report said Bullhead City police initiated, but terminated the first police chase when Camacho crossed the center line of Highway 95, endangering oncoming motorists. Silvas fueled the stolen vehicle before a second chase began at about 4:31 a.m.
The pursuit on the Bullhead Parkway ended after Camacho crossed the center line and crashed with an oncoming vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle, Jeremy Miller, 32, Kingman was fatally injured.
Camacho was the first to enter a plea deal and he faces a 15- to 20-year prison term when sentenced Dec. 1. Damarkez Hamer, 15, also entered a plea agreement that mandates a two-year prison term at sentencing Dec. 7.
Terms of the Silvas agreement require the court to order a three-year prison term, followed by probation at sentencing Dec. 9.
Remaining co-defendants Kyler Martinez, 17, and his brother Nicholas Martinez, 15, are charged with murder, unlawful flight, theft of means of transportation and criminal damage. They’re also expected to resolve their cases by plea agreement.
