A man has been arrested in a deliberate hit-and-run in North San Jose that was the city's first homicide of the year, police said Friday.
Mikel McNack, 19, of Fremont, was taken into custody Thursday at a residence in Sacramento, police said.
He is accused in the death of a pedestrian who was shot and intentionally run down on Wednesday afternoon in the area of Decanso Drive and North First Street, police said.
Family and friends identified the victim Friday as 25-year-old Erik Duran.
According to the victim's friends and family, rapping was one of Duran's passions and he worked at a barber shop in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood.
NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48's Yomara Lopez spoke to Angel Garcia Arciga, Duran’s uncle over the phone Friday night. He said that the family is heartbroken.
“We are destroyed right now, you know, we are missing a chunk of us right now,” he said.
Duran’s brother said Friday the victim knew the suspect and would sometimes cut his hair.
Friends were also remembering Duran at the barber shop he worked Friday night.
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“He would come and get haircuts here and we became close he liked cutting hair. He was motivated and he was learning how to cut hair,” said Juan Ruiz, the victim’s friend.
Ernesto González was Duran’s childhood soccer coach. He told NBC Bay Area Friday that he had known Duran for almost 20 years and is rattled by his sudden death.
“Two months ago, he surprised me by showing up at a soccer practice. He helped me with the kids. He was a great kid,” he said.
Officers are looking for a grey 2017 Infiniti QX30 SUV involved in the collision.
The motive and circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Barragan at 4106@sanjoseca.gov or Detective Van Brande at 4542@sanjoseca.gov, or at (408) 277-5283.
