A man connected to the tragic death of a professional welterweight boxer in the Bronx on New Year’s Eve back in 2006 has finally been arrested and charged with murder, the NYPD announced on Friday.
Ahmet Gashi, 42, originally from Kosovo, Serbia, is accused of running over 28-year-old prizefighter Kemal Kolenovic with a Mitsubishi SUV outside a bar on Belmont Avenue in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx. According to police, the incident unfolded after a bar fight involving Gashi and two other men spilled into the street.
The fight escalated quickly, with Gashi allegedly jumping into the driver’s seat of his car. Cops say he drove up onto the sidewalk, aiming to hit the men he’d been arguing with. Tragically, Kolenovic, who had no involvement in the argument, was struck instead. The boxer was thrown into a tree, suffering a fatal head injury. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After the horrific incident, the driver fled the scene, disappearing without a trace. Police initially named Gashi as a person of interest in Kolenovic’s death, but he fled to the Balkans, evading capture for nearly 18 years.
Earlier this year, Serbian police finally caught up with Gashi. He was handed over to the U.S. Marshals and has now been brought back to New York to face justice. He arrived at Central Booking in the Bronx on Friday night.
Kolenovic, originally from Montenegro, was a rising star in the boxing world before his life was tragically cut short. His death left a lasting impact on his family, friends, and the boxing community, who have waited nearly two decades for this moment of accountability.
