A man accused of being behind the wheel in a deadly hit-and-run in Boston's Allston neighborhood faced a judge Thursday morning.
Phocian Fitts was ordered held on $10,000 bail during his arraignment at Brighton District Court on charges of motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of an accident after causing death.
Fitts, 23, was arrested Wednesday night, hours after being questioned by Boston police in connection with the crash on Commonwealth Avenue that killed 80-year-old Theodore Schwalb.
Police said they found Fitts and the Jeep he was driving with a busted windshield and bumper at the apartment where he lives with his mother in the nearby Brighton neighborhood.
Prosecutors said that while Fitts had a green light, he admitted to driving too fast, listening to loud music and seeing the victim in the crosswalk when he hit him. Fitts also allegedly didn't hit the brakes before or after the crash.
A driver who was behind the Jeep at the time of the crash recorded footage with a dashboard camera showing that Fitts did not brake before or after hitting Schwalb, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors said Fitts did not express any remorse about what happened. He pleaded not guilty.
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Fitts' defense attorney said his client is on federal probation from a 2014 assault case involving a postal worker, and because of that, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years in prison.
A judge ordered Fitts to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and not to drive in the event that he makes bail.
Fitts' sisters were in court Thursday morning, but there was no one there on the victim's behalf.
According to the Boston Globe, Schwab was a long-time Stoneham High School art teacher who retired in 2000. He lived in Boston's South End.
"He was a funny guy who embraced life," school Principal Donna Cargill told the Globe. "He was a character."
Fitts is due back in court June 25.
