HUDSON COUNTY — Homicide detectives from the Hudson County Prosecutors Office are hoping the public will help them track down the suspect they say killed a West New York man last week.
On Tuesday, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said investigators are searching for 20-year-old Arthur P. Silva in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Spencer Hernandez of West New York last Thursday.
According to DeFazio, the victim and suspect were acquaintances, but he would not confirm how they knew each other or comment on the possible gang affiliations of either young man.
“This does not appear to be directly gang-related,” said DeFazio.
Hernandez, who was reportedly arrested on drug charges earlier this year, was shot in the early hours of the morning on Oct. 7 after he was lured out of his home by a phone call. He was killed by a single shot in the back, which DeFazio said caused “massive internal injuries.”
DeFazio said that an incident that occurred earlier in the evening involving Hernandez’s younger brother breaking into a car and robbing a purse may be related to the motive of the murder.
Within days of the shooting, a memorial page posted on Facebook for Hernandez had garnered over 750 friends and a song and video created in Hernandez’s honor were posted on the page.
According to investigators Silva is the only shooter allegedly involved in the incident and is believed to be in hiding. Silva’s last known address is on Palisades Avenue in Cliffside Park, but prior to that DeFazio said he was a Hudson County resident.
Anyone with information on the murder or the whereabouts of Arthur Silva should call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.