Jaques Prince was hit and killed as he rode his skateboard down Viers Mill Road in Montgomery County on April 8. The man accused to running him down, Gilver Zelaya-Diaz, is now held without bail having recently been released from federal prison. News4’s Paul Wagner spoke with Prince’s father.
The man accused in the hit-and-run death of a skateboarder in Montgomery County, Maryland, was ordered held without bond in the case during a hearing on Friday.
Gilver Zelaya-Diaz was allegedly driving the white Acrua that struck 27-year-old Jacques Price as he rolled along Viers Mill Road in Rockville on April 8. Price was killed.
Prosecutors said Zelaya-Diaz was on probation at the time of the crash and has used eight different aliases. They contend that Zelaya-Diaz knew he was wanted by police after investigators found the damaged car.
Zelaya-Diaz eluded police until last week. He went "dark", according to the prosecutor, turning his phone off so that he could not be tracked.
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His defense attorney, who declined to comment as he left district court, said his client had planned to turn himself in to police.
Marcus Glivings, Price's father, praised the work done by police in making the arrest.
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"He’s a bad guy I’m glad they caught him. It doesn’t change things but we are grateful he was apprehended," he said in an interview with News4.
In asking for Zelaya-Diaz to be held until trial, the prosecutor said the suspect was recently released from federal prison and has previously failed to show up at court five times. His criminal record shows that he was arrested on drug, assault and armed robbery charges.
He does not have a driver's license and entered the United States illegally in 2019, according to the prosecutor.
Police said they found the white Acura by going through a database of similar vehicles registered in Montgomery and Prince George's counties and then visiting the registered addresses.
At the scene of the crash, a memorial continues to stand honoring the memory of Price, who was a father and uncle.
A white skateboard with the date Price was killed was nailed to the telephone pole by a neighbor the day after his death. The symbol brought Glivings to tears.
“Ever sine it happened, I think the very next day, one of the neighbors nailed that skateboard up there and then flowers and candles and pictures," he said.
“He didn’t deserve it, he didn’t deserve it. He was minding his own business."
