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MARTINEZ — An El Sobrante man has been arrested in connection with the November hit-and-run death of a Martinez cyclist whose family, friends and colleagues in the cycling community worked tirelessly to garner any leads into who struck him.
Harold Brown, 53, was arrested June 2 on suspicion of hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter in the death of Martinez resident and avid cyclist Mark Pendleton, 49, said Officer Mike Wright of the California Highway Patrol, which is investigating the case.
Brown posted $85,000 bail June 3 and was released from custody, according to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office. Attempts to contact him at his home Thursday were unsuccessful. Brown, whose arrest was not publicly announced, is due back in court in late July.
Wright, who said the investigation is ongoing, declined to reveal further details about the arrest, including whether an effort over the last several months by family and colleagues — involving memorial bike rides and posting fliers — led to any tips that resulted in the arrest.
Pendleton, an electrician and father of two, was killed the night of Nov. 24 while on McEwen Road, about a half-mile north of Highway 4. Investigators said a vehicle resembling a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, or possibly a GMC Yukon or Suburban, crossed into his lane and struck him. The truck then fled the scene, leaving behind debris including broken shards of a headlight.
After Pendleton’s death, the CHP teamed with family and friends to pass out fliers asking for leads from motorists who drove by the area at the time of the crash. A $25,000 reward — contributions from family, the city of Martinez, cycling colleagues and his labor union — was offered for information leading to the person who struck Pendleton. A Web site has been set up soliciting information about the death: www.findmarkskiller.com.
A subsequent vigil and memorial bike ride were punctuated with a memorial, when a white-painted “ghost bike” was placed at the spot where Pendleton is believed to have died. The exhibit was designed to remind passing motorists about the yet-unsolved death and about heeding cyclists’ safety on the road.
The ghost bike was stolen in late January but was found two weeks later in a city dump, and was rededicated.