NEW DETAILS: Man charged in Wilmington fatal stabbing

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A man now faces charges in an early morning stabbing in Wilmington.

Police arrested Jose Guillermo Yecerra-Ascanio, 23, in the first-degree murder of Melvin Gonzalez Vellosa, 22. Both men are from Venezuela.

Wilmington police responded to the 500 block of Mercer Avenue Thursday morning and found Vellosa stabbed to death.

Investigators began searching for a suspect driving a red Chrysler. The car was spotted in an apartment complex on Saint Andrews Drive.

While law enforcement was in the area, another vehicle pulled up and the suspect, who was a passenger in that vehicle, was taken into custody.

Jaime Romero lives next door to where the stabbing occurred.

He said he was shocked by what happened.

“They came barging through our door asking for help so it was just shocking at first, couldn’t believe,” Romero said. “The police came to you first? No, the neighbors came covered in blood asking for help. I just woke up at that point, I didn’t know what was going on. I got scared cause I thought it was like, could have been one of my family members. Right as I woke up, I thought it was one of my family.”

Yecerra-Ascanio will have a first appearance on Friday. He may face additional charges.

Police say Yecerra-Ascanio had been arrested by WPD officers on Mercer Avenue on Sunday for an assault, which was domestic violence related. The victim of that assault is not the same victim of Thursday’s homicide.