BOSTON (WHDH) - Two men arrested in connection with an incident in Dorchester late Friday night during which an 18-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries while being dragged from a speeding car have both been ordered held on $100,000 bail, officials said.
Dejon W. Barnes, 18, of Dorchester, and Kenneth R. Ford, 23, of Roxbury, hid behind a door as they were arraigned Monday in Dorchester District Court on charges including unarmed robbery.
Troopers responding to a reported disturbance on Gallivan Boulevard found 18-year-old Kedoni Miller in the street, according to state police.
Miller, the father of a 1-year-old girl, was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he continued to receive treatment Monday for a critical brain injury.
Miller met Barnes and Ford to buy a smartphone but they hooked his arm to the car by closing the window on him and drove off at a high rate of speed, dragging him for several city blocks, according to prosecutors.
“Mr. Ford began to accelerate the vehicle at a high rate of speed, dragging the victim down the road about half a mile,” prosecutor Amy Martin said. “It was a speed estimated by one eyewitness to be about 60 mph.”
After an “around-the-clock” investigation, state police said troopers and members of the Boston Police Department responded to a house party on Phillips Street early Sunday morning and arrested Barnes and Ford without incident.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on behalf of both suspects.
“Mr. Barnes entirely wants to let this court know that he had nothing to do with the dragging,” attorney Jeff Chapdelaine said. “He emphatically would like the court to know that he is innocent.”
Miller’s family and friends packed the courtroom, calling the suspects cowards. They also said he was set to start a new job next week.
“It’s very scary. It’s unhuman like,” family friend Shardna Young said of the incident. “Very bad. Very poor.”
Barnes and Ford are due back in court at a later date. They could face additional charges.
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