Decision on East Naples hit-and-run case dismissal delayed

A man accused of a hit-and-run that killed a 13-year-old in Collier County wants his case thrown out of court. This comes after a judge declared a mistrial when a jury could not reach a verdict the first time.

Pedro Silva-Diaz, 34, remains accused of killing Shayden Colvin in an East Naples crash and leaving the scene in 2017.

Defense Attorney Lee Hollander said the state withheld evidence during the first trial, including a video showing other cars.

The decision of whether or not Silva-Diaz’s case will be dismissed was delayed and will be made Wednesday, Aug. 21.

Meanwhile, the video in question was shown to the judge and attorneys during the day’s proceedings. It’s likely it won’t be shown publicly in court until a decision on the case is made next week.

Hollander said the case should be dismissed because he believes state prosecutors were selective in the evidence used during the first trial.

“The state wants you to believe that somehow the video was presented to the state in the pristine fashion,” Hollander said. “That only had the excerpts they wanted to play they played for the jury.”

Hollander claims the state only showed video of Silva-Diaz’s car at the intersection of the crash, but there is a video that he never knew about showing other cars going through the intersection at the same time.

“He wasn’t made aware that the videos existed is completely contradictory to the emails and property receipts turned over to him,” said Nicole Mirra, the assistant state attorney leading the prosecution.

Mirra denies they withheld anything from the defense. But Hollander believes someone altered the video and left out the part favorable to his client.

“That’s ridiculous somebody did it,” Hollander said. “They pulled them out. They had to. That was the master disk.”

A witness with Collier County Sheriff’s Office denies that claim in court when the prosecution asked.

If the case is not thrown out of the court, the new trial is set to begin Monday, Sept. 9.

MORE:

• Juror in Shayden Colvin hit-and-run death trial feels ‘duped’ over withheld evidence
• Family of 13-year-old killed in hit-and-run prepares for new trial