Twist In Penngrove Homicide: Suspect Arrested in AZ Charged With Murder In Death of Accomplice

A Marin County man who is a suspect in the murder of a Penngrove woman last month was indicted on a murder charge Wednesday in La Paz County, Arizona for his alleged role in the death of the other murder suspect.

Olga Mary Dinelli, 84, was found dead in a chair in her Rose Avenue home on Feb. 26 and her 1995 Lexus SC400 was missing. She was shot once, her home was ransacked and some items that were missing from the home have been recovered, Sonoma County sheriff’s Sgt. Cecile Focha said.

Neither Dinelli nor members of her family had any relationship to her assailants, Focha said. One suspect, John Bruno Martinez, 27, of Richmond was arrested in Richmond on Saturday.

Two other suspects, Victor Silva, 27, and Stephanie Hill, 37, both of Novato, left Sonoma County after the murder. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office located the vehicle Hill and Silva were in on eastbound Interstate Highway 10 on Saturday.

The occupants of the vehicle were speeding toward Blythe, Ca. and allegedly were shooting at passing motorists, according to the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspects entered La Paz County and allegedly shot at a Quartzsite, Ariz. police officer as he was applying spike strips near a bridge on the highway, but the officer was not injured, La Paz County sheriff’s Lt. Curt Bagby said.

The spike strips caused the vehicle to go off the east side of I-10 and Hill and Silva fled into the desert, Babgy said.

They were pursued by the sheriff’s deputies and local police and Silva surrendered, Bagby said. Hill brandished a weapon, was shot by a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy and she died at the scene.

Silva was taken into custody and booked on several felony charges in the La Paz County Detention Facility.

He was indicted Wednesday by a La Paz County grand jury for unlawful flight from a pursuing law enforcement vehicle and for Hill’s murder because she was killed while she and Silva were committing a crime.

Martinez has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, burglary, robbery and false imprisonment.

His next date in Sonoma County Superior Court is Monday. Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell said it’s unknown when Silva will be extradited to Sonoma County to face the Penngrove murder charge.

“Unless they (La Paz County authorities) release their hold on him, we can’t extradite him. Once they file charges and have jurisdiction on him, he has a right to a speedy trial,” Staebell said.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the murder, Staebell said.

Once all the sheriff’s reports are completed, prosecutors will know who actually shot Dinelli, Staebell said.

“It can be a significant factor in our charging,” Staebell said. The sheriff’s office has a warrant for Silva’s arrest, Staebell said.

Hill was a suspect in a Fairfax residential burglary that occurred on Feb. 16 and was under investigation for other burglaries in Marin County, Fairfax police said.

Previous coverage:

• Richmond Man Charged With Being Accessory To Penngrove Murder
• One Penngrove Murder Suspect Shot Dead; Two Others In Custody
• Murdered Penngrove Woman’s Car Is Located
• 84-Year-Old Woman Found Murdered Thursday In Penngrove Home
• Sheriff Investigating Deceased Person Found In Penngrove Home

--Bay City News

--Shutterstock image

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