Police on the scene of the Christmas party and subsequent pedestrian fatality the morning of Friday, Dec. 17. | Facebook
Police on the scene of the Christmas party and subsequent pedestrian fatality the morning of Friday, Dec. 17. | Facebook
No bond has been set for a 34-year-old Lilburn man jailed on charges he struck and killed his brother-in-law with a vehicle after a "physical fight" during a Christmas party late last week.
Ernesto Pelayo remains in Gwinnett County Adult Detention Center on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault following his arrest by Henry County Police Tuesday, Dec. 21, according to a jail inmate search and a Gwinnett County Police news release.
Charges against Pelayo stem from the early morning Friday, Dec. 17, pedestrian vehicular death of 14-year-old Juan Davila of Lawrenceville, at Great Oaks Drive near its intersection with Windsor Oak Circle. Gwinnett Police have been calling this incident a "domestic-related homicide."
The Christmas party both men were attending began late afternoon the day prior and still was going on between 5 and 5:15 a.m. when the vehicular incident occurred, Gwinnett County police Sgt. Michele Pihera told Fox 5 later that same morning.
It all started as a holiday party.
"There were family members involved and at some point there were two brothers-in-law," Pihera told Fox 5. "They had a physical fight in the back yard and that physical fight ended up in the street. One of the brothers in law got in his vehicle and – intentionally, we believe – ran over the brother."
The incident initially was reported as a pedestrian accident that involved a fatality.
"When the officers got here, the victim had already been transported to the hospital where he died as a result of his injuries," Pihera said.
As police continued their investigation, including interviewing "those involved," they soon "realized this was not only a pedestrian fatality, this was leaning more toward a homicide investigation."
The driver of the vehicle then fled the scene in a black Dodge pickup truck and witnesses called 911.
"Witnesses reported seeing the truck strike the victim and then driving away," the police news release said. "The nature of the physical fight and reasons they ended up in the street are still being investigated."
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