DaSilva pleads guilty to reduced charges of negligent homicide

Joseph DaSilva, Jr. downtown Danbury’s largest property owner, with his defense attorney Eugene Riccio New Milford resident Joseph DaSilva, Jr. pleaded guilty to reduced charges of negligent homicide and assault on January 18, ending his trial in state Superior Court before the first witness took the stand.

As the jury waited outside the courtroom for testimony to begin, opposing attorneys put the finishing touches on a plea bargain that could result in downtown Danbury’s largest property owner serving up to two and a half years in prison, although his lawyer can argue for a lesser penalty when DaSilva is formally sentenced on March 12. “It was a long negotiation, and the outcome of it was fair to all sides,” Assistant State’s Attorney Sharmese Hodge said later.

Defense attorney Eugene Riccio simply called it “a tragic event from many aspects,” while DaSilva left the courthouse without making any comment.

Under the plea deal, the state dropped charges of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault stemming from the death of 42-year-old Luis Encalada, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador whom DaSilva allegedly caught trespassing in his Town Hill Avenue apartment building on November 6, 2009.

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