The suspected killer wanted for the 2006 murder of up-and-coming boxer Kemal Kolenovic was arrested in Kosovo after dodging justice for nearly 18 years.
The Bronx district attorney’s office issued an international “red notice” arrest warrant for Ahmed Gashi after he was identified as living in the Balkan country, and U.S. marshals were dispatched to join forces with local law enforcement in Kosovo to apprehend Kolenovic’s alleged killer.
Gashi arrived in New York City Friday morning and was charged with murder.
The hulking suspect did not answer questions as police escorted him out of the 50th Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx with his eyes up and head shaven.
Gashi was wanted for running Kolenovic down with an SUV outside the now-shuttered Moonlight Bar, on Belmont Ave. near 186th St., around 4:35 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2006.
Speaking after the brutal incident, the victim’s uncle told the Daily News that the suspect had been arguing with a group of men when his nephew offered to purchase a round of drinks in an effort to ease tensions outside the Belmont watering hole.
“My nephew wanted to buy them a drink to keep them from fighting,” Tony Mujovit said. “He was never part of the fight. He got killed for nothing.”
Kolenovic joined his uncle at the bar to enjoy drinks and Albanian music when several men discussing their Albania hometowns started arguing.
Kolenovic, who was of Albanian heritage but emigrated from Montenegro, acted the peacemaker as the feuding men began shoving each other, his uncle said.
The suspect, who police at the time described as a young man with a shaved head, stalked off after the fight spilled outside.
The man returned behind the wheel of a dark-colored SUV, striking Kolenovic on the sidewalk as his back was turned, Mujovit said.
Medics rushed Kolenovic to St. Barnabas Hospital where he died.
Kolenovic held the New York State welterweight boxing title before moving up in weight class. He had a record of 10 wins — five by knockout — six losses and two draws.
In his last fight, held two weeks before his murder, Kolenovic scored a first-round knockout over Ronnie Glover with a right to the head at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, Long Island.
“He was one of the toughest kids I ever trained,” his trainer Raymond Paolillo said at the time. “He would never back down.”
