West Warwick man sentenced to 10 years for robbing liquor store with pellet gun

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha said that a West Warwick man has been sentenced for robbing a Coventry liquor store with a pellet gun in 2021.

Raymond Silva pled guilty to one count of first-degree robbery.

The 56-year-old was accused entering Bill’s Package Store on Main Street on Sept. 18, 2021, wearing a mask.

He then pointed a pellet gun at the clerk and owner, sprayed them with pepper spray, and then searched through the cash register.

Police that arrived on the scene were told by the attacked clerk and owner that Silva also threw a wine bottle at the owner, and later cut himself on the broken glass. The owner also said their assailant resembled a former employee, Silva.

Neronha said that police eventually responded to Silva’s home, which he shared with his girlfriend. When searching the home and the girlfriend’s car, they found a silver mask covered in blood, gloves covered with blood, two large knives with black handles, a pellet gun magazine, and a black semiautomatic pellet gun, along with trails of blood.

DNA tests confirmed that the samples from the store, home, and car all matched Silva.

Neronha said Siva was sentenced to 25 years, with 10 years served in prison and a 15-year suspended sentence with probation.