A man who allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian while driving drunk in East Harlem on New Year’s Eve was released without bail at his Tuesday arraignment — as prosecutors revealed he tried to ditch several bottles of booze before cops arrived.
Farkell Hopkins, 23, is accused of chucking a cardboard box full of empty and filled liquor bottles near the scene of the fatal crash on East 125th Street near Madison Avenue that left an unidentified man in his 40s dead.
There had been a three-week gap between Hopkins’s arrest and his arraignment thanks to the state’s new criminal justice reforms that require prosecutors to turn over evidence to defense teams within a 15-day time-frame.
Those same reforms enabled Hopkins to remain out of jail, despite facing a number of charges, including vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and tampering with physical evidence.
Hopkins pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He was allegedly speeding when he plowed into the victim, who was jaywalking near the East Harlem intersection, prosecutors said. The victim was sent flying 100 feet down the street from the impact and pronounced dead on scene.
“The defendant was driving a work vehicle, he purchased the liquor that he drank on work hours, and he killed this victim on work hours while he was driving this vehicle,” Assistant District Attorney Courtney Razner said in court Tuesday.
Police also discovered more liquor bottles inside Hopkins’ Safelite AutoGlass work truck.
His defense attorney, Dave Krauss, said after his arraignment, “He is presumed innocent and we have faith in the judicial process.”