Charges dismissed in re-enactment shooting
Published: Sept. 17, 2009
NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 17 (UPI) — A judge in Isle of Wight County, Va., has dismissed the criminal charges against a man for an accidental shooting during a Civil War re-enactment.
The charges against Joshua Silva were dropped through a deal with prosecutors that included the Civil war buff paying restitution and completing a gun safety course, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday.
Silva pleaded guilty in June to reckless handling of a firearm in the 2008 shooting that injured Thomas R. Lord Sr., age unavailable, of Suffolk, Va. Lord recovered from his unspecified wound.
Silva, whose age also was not reported, fired a 19th-century, .45-caliber pistol during a Civil War re-enactment for the documentary "Overland Campaign Web Series Project" last September. Officials believed Silva’s claim he was unaware the firearm had been loaded with live ammunition, Commonwealth’s Attorney Wayne Farmer said.
Silva had been portraying a Confederate soldier and Lord a Union soldier.
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