Man arrested in connection to 2006 New Year's Eve cold case murder in the Bronx
Kemal Kolenovic was killed in a hit-and-run on the morning of Dec. 31, 2006
BRONX, New York (WABC) -- Police have made an arrest in a nearly 18-year-old cold case murder that happened in the Bronx on New Year's Eve in 2006.
Ahmet Gashi, 42, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Friday.
Gashi, who is from Serbia, was arrested in connection to the murder of Kemal Kolenovic, a professional middle weight boxer who was 28 years old at the time of his death on December 31, 2006.
On that day, police responded to a 911 call for a pedestrian struck near Crescent Avenue and Belmont Avenue around 4:35 a.m.
As New York prepared to ring in 2007, a group of men got drunk at a bar in the Belmont section. The fight spilled out on the street and became a brawl.
Police say Gashi, then just 20 years old, jumped in his SUV and hit the gas.
Kolenovic had been minding his own business that night and was part of a group of people who tried to break up the fight, until police say Gashi plowed into them.
Kolenovic flew headfirst into a tree. EMS responded and took him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Gashi fled the scene and disappeared to the Balkans in eastern Europe.
Earlier this year, authorities in Kosovo placed him under arrest.
U.S. Marshals arranged extradition, and before he knew it, Gashi was back at JFK Airport.
On Friday night, he was on his way to central booking in the Bronx.
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