Pennsylvania man Cruz Martinez Jr, 41, arrested for murdering Alisha Colon

Cruz Martinez Jr. was charged late Saturday with first degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Alisha Colon.

Colon was found Thursday in the bedroom of her second-floor apartment in Keay, New Jersey, dead with a gunshot wound to the head.

Martinez, 41, was arrested in Pennsylvania on Saturday on an unrelated open warrant, according to NBC.

Cruz Martinez Jr, 41, of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, was charged late Saturday with murder for the shooting death of a 16-year-old Alisha Colon Keay, New Jersey 

He was later charged with Colon's murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of firearm for an unlawful purpose.

Bail for Martinez was set at $10,000,000 cash. He is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail awaiting extradition.

Authorities in Keaey say Colon is a hero for having made the lifesaving decision to hide her little brother to protect him from her killer.

This according to Colon’s boyfriend’s father, Ricardo Baez, who according to The Jersey Joual said colon was babysitting her brother at the time of the slaying.

Baez also said he believes his son Joseph Baez, who stood with him during media interviews and at times became overwhelmed by emotion, could easily have been another victim.

Joseph was in a basketball game that night, he said, instead of with Colon as he so often was.

Heartbroken: Colon's boyfriend Joseph Baez (pictured) sobbed as he described his beautiful, outgoing girlfriend who was murdered Jan. 17

Police reported that officers responded to reports of a street fight outside Colon's home earlier that same Thursday.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Gene Rubino said that some of Colon's family members were involved in the altercation, but Alishia herself was not.

Edwin Mendez, 37, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon as a result of the earlier incident.

Neighbors shocked: Colon was found dead in her Keaey, NJ home on Belgrove Drive, an area usually described as quiet.

The weapon in question was, reportedly, a machete.

Officials are investigating any possible connection between those involved in the fight, including Mendez who served 20 years in prison for a 1992 murder, and Colon's death.

Friends mouing: Alishia Colon was described by friends as 'a really nice girl' who was 'always smiling'

Colon's Twitter account was full of outpourings of grief Friday as the beautiful young girl's friends, classmates, and people across the inteet showed their respect.

The beautiful young Colon's fellow students told reporters 'She never really did anything bad,' and that 'She was a really nice girl,' who was 'Always smiling.'

Hero sister: Colon, pictured here with her family, hid her little brother from her shooter

Some of Colon's fellow students grieved by wearing black to school Friday.

One student's reactions to the grave events held particular weight, those of Colon's boyfriend Joseph Baez.

'She was so good,' Baez said. 'She was so smart. She was so nice. She helped me a lot...and they just took her.'

Baez spoke through tears to The Jersey Joual.

'She loved her school work,' he said. 'She just wanted to live life...to live.'