Ashlin Baker, 12, left, Emily Baker, 14, and Thomas Porfirio, 15, were killed Feb. 9 in a one-car crash on Hinckley Road in Clinton. Contributed photos
A judge has sentenced a 17-year-old Fairfield boy to serve up to four years in a youth detention center for his involvement in a February car crash that killed three youths and seriously injured another.
In November, Timothy Silva pleaded guilty to one juvenile charge of class A manslaughter in the deaths of Tommy Porfirio, 15, and Emily and Ashlin Baker, ages 14 and 12, respectively. He also pleaded guilty to charges of driving to endanger, criminal speeding and operating a motor vehicle without a license, all of which were charged as adult crimes.
Waterville District Court Judge Charles Dow sentenced Silva to be committed to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland until he’s 21 years old.
Silva is scheduled to turn himself in on Dec. 10 at 9 a.m., according to Maegan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties.
“Our family would like to thank all the hard work Chief Rusty Bell (Clinton Police Department) put into this case,” Sheila Porfirio, mother of Tommy Porfirio, said in a prepared statement. “Thank you to the DA’s office for never giving up. Thank you to the judge who made the right decision. Our ‘Justice for Tommy’ group, the Porfirios will never forget your support and love through this tragedy. The last thing we could do for Tommy was demand justice. We love you forever and always, Tommy. You live on in our hearts.”
According to Silva’s attorney, Walter McKee of Augusta, “Long Creek has the authority after a period of time to release him early.”
District Attorney Maloney was pleased with the sentence.
“I feel grateful that the judge listened carefully,” Maloney said during a phone interview Friday. “It is the maximum sentence that can be given, and I think that is the correct sentence.”
McKee was pushing for a suspended sentence that would have placed Silva on probation.
Tim Silva, 17, the driver involved in the crash last February that killed three youths in Clinton, seen in a November court proceeding, received the maximum sentence for his crimes. The judge issued the maximum sentence on Friday, committing Silva to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland until he’s 21 years old. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel file
“Tim and his family are deeply disappointed with the decision,” McKee said in an email Friday. “They believed that the law as applied to the case compelled a very different result.”
During a Nov. 20 court proceeding, Maloney detailed the events leading up to the Feb. 9 crash.
“Testimony would show on Feb. 9, 2020, the defendant and his passengers left homes at 2 a.m. and drove around Fairfield, Waterville and Clinton,” Maloney said. “At 7 a.m., the defendant was operating the motor vehicle and passed a vehicle at a high rate of speed on the Hinckley Road (which) caused the vehicle to be forced onto the shoulder of the road, nearly causing a crash. As the defendant was passing back into the correct lane, he lost control, overcorrected, losing control, and crashed into a tree …”
Tommy Porfirio and Emily and Ashlin Baker were dead when rescue workers arrived, and Nevaeh Wilson, 12, was trapped inside the car.
Wilson and Silva were treated for injuries at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Maloney said that a state police investigation found that Silva was driving 85 mph in a posted 40 mph zone.
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