UKIAH – On April 27, 2018, a Mendocino County Superior Court Jury found Caleb Dain Silver, 27, a transient on the Mendocino coast, guilty of the first-degree murder of Dennis Boardman, 67, in December 2015. The jury also found true, special allegations that the defendant used a hammer and a knife in the commission of the crime.

Boardman’s body was discovered inside his home by law enforcement officers conducting a welfare check.  It appeared Boardman had been killed days earlier and his truck stolen.

“These cases can be difficult to investigate and prosecutors often rely on evidence examined, collected and processed by California Department of Justice criminalists,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.

The law enforcement agencies that diligently gathered and pieced together the necessary evidence in this case were the: Fort Bragg Police Department, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force, California Highway Patrol, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Justice forensic crime lab, and Mendocino County District Attorney investigators.

Silver is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16, 2018.