The man police say is responsible for a deadly hit-and-run in Vernon last month appeared before a judge Friday in Rockville Superior Court.
Two weeks after the crash that took 25-year-old James Faulkner’s life, 20-year-old Jahmarcus Mccatty of Hartford was arraigned on charges including manslaughter and reckless driving.
Mccatty’s bond was set at $1 million cash or surety.
Loved ones of Faulkner filled the courtroom for the arraignment. On Wednesday, his sister Heather told NBC Connecticut that Faulkner was an adventurer who loved fishing, hunting, his dog Trigger, and riding his motorcycle.
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“He didn’t deserve what happened to him at all,” Heather Faulkner said. “It was a very harsh thing for somebody to do, somebody who had so much life left. He was robbed. He was robbed of everything he could have possibly had. A family, everything.”
In court, it was revealed what police believe led up to the crash.
“This was not some simple fender bender where the defendant fled from the scene,” an attorney for the state said. “This was an incident that went on for miles. Somewhat of a road rage incident.”
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According to an arrest warrant, the two were traveling at high rates of speed, and Mccatty’s Infiniti was traveling at 80 miles per hour just before the crash.
“It was a long stretch of a scene. It started further up in town and went for miles until it ended tragically and fatally in the Prospect section in Vernon,” Lt. Robert Marra said Friday. “The way he was driving in this small, congested area at bus times was very dangerous, not only for himself but for others, and other families around.”
After the crash, Mccatty took off running, police say. The warrant states multiple security cameras spotted him running and walking through neighborhoods, behind homes and backyards.
Marra said they tied him to the scene using DNA evidence they swabbed from inside the car he left behind.
“We actually had to wait for some confirmatory DNA to come back from the state lab to pinpoint who this suspect was. In the end, it was the person who we initially thought,” he said. “There’s quite a bit of DNA that you leave in cars, in vehicles. That was one of the things we focused on very quickly because we didn’t know who it was. All we had was a brief description.”
It led them to a home in Hartford, where police there assisted in arresting Mccatty at the home he shares with his mother and girlfriend. Police said they found automatic weapons with high-capacity magazines.
Mccatty was out on probation at the time of this crime for gun charges.
“I think it’s a relief to all parties involved. Police, family, I think it helps the family say, 'Hey, we’re not out looking for random people anymore. We found the person who’s responsible for the death of our family member,'” Marra added. “A two-week turnaround was pretty impressive, I think, in what these guys did. The assistance with Hartford PD and their special response teams. It was a collaborative and team effort that led to the success in this case.”
Mccatty is due back in court on April 26.
