SANTA CRUZ — A Santa Cruz man was booked into County Jail Friday on hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter charges nine days after a bicyclist was struck and killed on Empire Grade Road.

The body of Zachary Parke, 25, of Santa Cruz was found beside the road; he had been at a friend’s home on the UC Santa Cruz campus.

California Highway Patrol officers Sarah Jackson and Jim Crouch tracked down the maroon Nissan reportedly seen that night and then secured an arrest warrant for Elliott Sterling Dess, 21, about 8 a.m. today.

Dess, who works at a parts warehouse, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, Jackson said. His bail was set by Judge Paul Marigonda at $100,000, she said.

CHP investigators contacted Dess through his attorney, whom Jackson declined to name.                           

Dess came to the Aptos CHP office and was arrested there, she said.

He was “very quiet,” Jackson said. Dess is accused of striking Parke and of not stopping after the fatal crash.

The maroon 1998 Nissan Sentra Dess was driving is registered to a family member, Jackson said.

She would only say that a combination of evidence left at the scene and tips from callers broke the case, and that the CHP has been working with the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.

Any charges or enhancements to the charges — including any allegation of the level of injury on a hit-and-run charge — would come from

what the District Attorney’s Office files in a criminal complaint.

“I can’t say anymore,” she said. “The case has not been adjudicated and I would hate to compromise their case.”

Jackson said she left a message for Parke’s mother, April Parke, this morning, to notify her of the arrest.

“We’ve been working on it steadily since we received the call, Jackson said. “It’s always good to resolve a case like this, that’s our job, although making an arrest doesn’t necessarily make anyone feel any better.”

Dess remained in County Jail early this afternoon.

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