Thiago Silva has bond denied, remains in custody on felony charges
UFC light heavyweight fighter Thiago Silva will remain in custody on several felony charges after a judge in Florida ordered on Friday that he be held without bond after several serious crimes were levied against him in court.
Judge John Hurley ruled on the proceedings and declared that Silva be held without bond due to possible risk of flight back to Brazil where he could escape authorities and because of new constitutional laws in that country, he could prevent extradition because he is a Brazilian citizen.
The judge ultimately ruled that Silva be charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault with a firearm instead of the attempted murder charges originally placed on his case. He was also charged with felony aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest without violence.
According to documents read by the court, Silva made numerous threats to his wife Thaysa that included putting a gun in her mouth at one point and telling her that he was going to kill her. In addition, the sheriff's deputies obtained text messages from Silva to his wife with threats that included 'I'm going to hire someone to kill you' and 'you're going to die'.
Allegedly, Silva was enraged at his wife after she got involved in a relationship with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Pablo Popovitch. Silva threatened his wife outside the jiu-jitsu school with a gun where the situation started and then threatened Popovitch as well, which is where the two counts of aggravated assault stem. Silva eventually left the scene and went back to his town home where he was arrested after a standoff with the SWAT team and other police officers.
Silva's mugshot from the Broward County Sheriff's Office online booking report.
The judge took the charges against Silva very seriously while also noting his status as a mixed martial arts fighter, which gives him the physical ability to harm his wife even without a weapon. They also noted that Silva could potentially post bail and then skip the court proceedings and flee back to Brazil.
"The court has no doubt that you could kill any or all of these people without even using a gun. The court believes that you do represent risk of flight," Judge Hurley said in the morning proceedings.
Silva's lawyer argued that he was not financially capable of fleeing the country due to his current situation and because he would not have more money until after competing in his next fight scheduled for March 15 in Dallas. UFC president Dana White had told TMZ early on Friday morning that Silva would never fight for the promotion again, but that information was never raised during the proceedings.
"He has right now an IRS garnishment because he owes a lot of money. He has no money right now until his next fight in Dallas. He doesn't fight in Dallas, he's broke," Silva's lawyer argued in court.
The court did not agree with the assessment, however, because Silva does own his home outright and has other means by which he could flee the country not to mention the possible physical harm he could do to his wife and/or Popovitch.
Due to the 'ongoing domestic situation' and 'threats to kill his wife', Silva was ordered to be held without bond on the matter. The state's attorney will seek to have Silva's passport surrendered at a later date and hearing.
Silva will remain in custody pending the charges until further notice.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has terminated the contract of Thiago Silva, effective immediately.
