Social media personality Bryan Silva, 25-years-old, has been arrested after a standoff on Sunday at a home in the 2500 block of Jefferson Park Avenue in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Charlottesville Police Department confirmed news of the arrest . Silva has been charged with abduction and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police said they responded to a call that came in around 6 a.m. Sunday morning concerning an alleged domestic dispute. When they arrived at the home with warrants for abduction and firearm possession, they found Silva had barricaded himself inside.
Police reportedly contacted Silva by phone, but he refused to leave. A standoff ensued, and SWAT teams were then called in by police. The 2500 block was closed to allow access for police and SWAT teams. People reported the standoff lasted around nine hours .
A 17-year-old girl, who may or may not be Bryan Silva’s girlfriend, was at the home when the argument began. The girl told police she had been held against her will by her boyfriend, and that he had threatened her with a handgun. She also said he had threatened to shoot the police.
“We got a call here this morning, shortly after 6 o’clock, for a disturbance, it was a domestic disturbance. A female said she was threatened with a firearm,” said Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo.
During the standoff, Silva posted profanity-laced updates and photos on Facebook, including a video of police surrounding his home with the caption, “Y’all pigs can s**k my monster d**k.”
Bryan also uploaded a screenshot of a chat in which he had written, “She betrayed me.”
Just before Silva’s arrest , he posted a video to Facebook from inside his home showing him dancing, yelling and drinking what appears to be vodka.
“You never know where someone’s mind is, and if you look at the video it may give you an indication of how he was acting and how he was acting with her. So that lent more credence to what we did and why we did it,” stated Charlottesville Police Captain Gary Pleasants.
Police Chief Longo, speaking at a press conference Sunday afternoon, said Silva surrendered after police used a chemical irritant on the home.
“It was a domestic disturbance. A female caller said that she was threatened with a firearm, we responded and began an investigation,” Longo said.
“Fortunately, by the grace of God, this ended peacefully. We have someone in custody, he’s safe, he’s unharmed, as are the rest of the members of this community,” Longo added.
Bryan Silva has become relatively well-known from his seconds-long videos on the social media site, Vine, and has amassed a following in the hundreds of thousands. Silva claims to be a bodybuilder, porn star and rapper .
Vine Star Bryan Silva Has Been Arrested https://t.co/hB2d7Otm1k pic.twitter.com/0qcMRI2RUg
— MTV News (@MTVNews) January 4, 2016
MTV reports this isn’t the first time Bryan has been arrested . In an interview with Complex , Silva said he’d been “locked up for three years” for “breaking and entering” and “hitting [his] school principal.”
Residents in the neighborhood described the area as safe and said they were surprised to see the area cordoned off with police nearby.
NBC-affiliate WVIR reports Silva made an appearance in court on Monday via closed-circuit television. He mentioned his 1.5 million followers on Facebook and claimed he is employed by the website. He is reportedly still on probation from an Orange County assault, but said he had no idea about it.
Silva was denied bond until he meets with his attorney, and he told the court he can afford his own attorney. The court appointed him an attorney for a hearing set in February.
After his arrest, Bryan remains incarcerated at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
Bryan Silva’s mother, Robin Silva, says she’s devastated by the news of her son’s arrest.
[Image via Twitter ]
