Friends fight for justice in suspicious death of Raleigh bartender

Marvin Alberto Quinonez worked as a bartender at Glenwood Grill in Raleigh, where he easily made friends with co-workers and customers, friends said.

"When you came in, you knew you had a new friend in Marvin. He was just a wonderful, compassionate, great person," Trish Barnes said Monday.

Adam Reid said he remembers Quinonez, his co-worker and roommate, as "an awesome guy – so kind and generous."

Quinonez was born in El Salvador and grew up in New Orleans, where much of his family still lives. Without family in the immediate area, friends say they have stepped up to the task of demanding answers about what led up to his death.

"We promised his family when they left that we would not let it go, that people here did care enough about Marvin to make sure that justice was done," Barnes said.

Police say that Quinonez got into an argument inside Churchill's Bar, at 1622 Glenwood Ave., in the historic Five Points neighborhood, after he got off work one evening last month. The altercation continued outside, where it allegedly turned physical.

A passerby found Quinonez injured behind the bar in the early morning hours of Nov. 13. He had suffered severe head trauma and died in the hospital more than a week later.

Police have spoken to a man who had an altercation with Quinonez, but say the case is still under investigation.

Dana Jones said it was a shock to hear about her friend's tragic death.

"He was always trying to help you out, always putting you first," she said. "He just became a friend to us all, and he had so many friends here and in the community."

Reid said the loss is hard to accept.

"Knowing that he's gone forever is hard to actually grasp on to," he said. "I go home and I'm minus a roommate and a friend, and it just hurts."