Doctor doubts religious faith doomed victim in Fresno 49ers rage shooting

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- David Quevedo is accused of going into a rage after the 49ers lost Super Bowl XLVII and committing murder. But as we reported last week, his defense blames the victim's religious faith, not the shooting, for his death.

Omar Silva was a Jehovah's Witness, and he refused blood transfusions based on his faith. The doctor who treated him said that hurt his chances of survival, but with the gunshot injuries he suffered, his chances weren't great no matter what.

Omar Silva's murder may have never happened had the San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XLVII. But as the Baltimore Ravens celebrated their win, police say David Quevedo went into a tailspin.

"After the game had finished and the 49ers had lost, Mr. Quevedo was upset," said Fresno police homicide detective Antonio Rivera. "He was hitting walls and furniture."

Quevedo got kicked out of a party and wandered around a Central Fresno neighborhood until he ran into Arnold Silva. Witnesses say he started a fight that was broken up by Omar Silva, Arnold's brother. As he left, Quevedo shouted out his gang affiliation and said he'd be back.

"And in the gang world, that's a form of disrespect," said Fresno police officer Manuel Romero. "He had to do something. He had to come back, he had to do something, and in this case he came back with a firearm."

Witnesses say Quevedo came looking for Arnold Silva, but when Omar was the only brother he could find, he unloaded his gun on Omar. Four bullets found the mark, including two to the abdomen.

Trauma surgeons at Community Regional found two holes in Silva's inferior vena cava -- that's the main vein connecting the abdomen to the heart.

A doctor hired by the defense wrote a report saying Silva should've had a 90% chance of surviving if he'd accepted blood transfusions. The surgeon who treated Silva disagreed.

"Those injuries have a mortality of between 40 and 60 percent so having a 90% survival rate is higher than anything I've ever read," said Dr. Victor McCray.

The prosecution rested its case Tuesday. That defense doctor is set to testify next week. And Quevedo himself is still deciding whether to testify in his own defense. He's facing life in prison without parole if he's convicted.