Julio Acevedo, the man charged with vehicular manslaughter in the hit-and-run deaths of a young Orthodox couple and their baby, pleaded not guilty on Thursday, according to the NY Daily News.

Acevedo was initially charged with leaving the scene of a crime and criminal negligent homicide, but a few days ago the Brooklyn District Attorney announced vehicular manslaughter charges as well.

The addition of the three manslaughter counts increased his potential jail time to 15 years; in light of his prior criminal record, however, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Defense attorney Kathleen Julian implied that the added charges were a result of pressure from the Orthodox community.

“We’re disappointed with the upgraded charges,” Julian said. “Like similar cases in recent events, I hope it’s not motivated by public pressure.”

The Daily News said Julian was speaking of the exoneration of David Ranta, found guilty in 1990 of killing Chasidic rabbi Chaskel Werzberger. Ranta is being released from prison today. At the time of his arrest, there was a good deal of pressure from Orthodox groups, according to the News.

“It’s the same community,” Julian noted. “There was public pressure and now that case is falling apart.”

In Acevedo’s case, the DA’s office said they have eyewitnesses who saw Acevedo driving recklessly, more than double the speed limit, and then surveying the damage post-impact before fleeing.

Acevedo is due back in court May 31. A DWI case against him from two weeks prior to the crash has been included in the new case.

When he was arraigned for the DWI, the judge released him without bail and did not take away his license, even though a suspension was mandated by law, the News said.

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The man accused of hitting a car in a crash that killed a Brooklyn couple and their newborn baby was indicted today.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said that Julio Acevedo was charged with fleeing the scene of an accident where death results.

Prosecutors say Acevedo drove a BMW while speeding into a livery cab March 3, which killed Nathan Glauber, 21, and his pregnant wife Raizy, 21. She was pregnant with their child, who was delivered prematurely but died the next day.

Police picked up Acevedo in Pennsylvania, bringing him back to New York March 7.

Critics had called for harsh charges in the case. Hynes noted that they are still presenting evidence to the grand jury in the deaths of the couple and the child.

Acevedo is in jail without bail, according to the D.A.’s office.

He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.

The post Julio Acevedo, man in crash that killed Brooklyn couple, indicted appeared first on Metro.us.

The suspect in a fatal Brooklyn car crash that killed a young pregnant woman, her husband and ultimately their baby, has been charged with three felony counts of criminally negligent homicide. 

Julio Acevedo, 44, was arraigned Thursday night and also charged with leaving the scene of the accident, excessive speed, assault and reckless driving. Police had also charged Acevedo with vehicular manslaughter for the death of the baby who was born after the accident, but prosecutors did not file that charge, The New York Times reports.

Raizy and Nachman Glauber, both 21, were on their way to the hospital in a livery cab just after midnight on Sunday because the woman was not feeling well. Acevedo, driving a borrowed BMW at more than 60 miles per hour, slammed into the car carrying the Glaubers, killing them. The premature baby was born via C-section at Bellevue Hospital, but died the next day.

The driver of the cab is recovering from his injuries and spoke to reporters on Thursday. He said he cannot remember the accident, but he knows the area well and he did not break any traffic laws.

Acevedo, an ex-con who was on the run for three days after the crash, could face anywhere from 15 years to life in prison. He was arrested just last month for drunk driving and previously served eight years in prison for a shooting death in 1987.

A lawyer for the suspect said on Thursday that the crash was “an accident, a horrible accident.”

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A suspect in a hit-and-run that left two people and their unborn baby dead has surrendered to police, according to a report.

Julio Acevedo was arrested by cops in Pennsylvania this afternoon, according to the Daily News.

He surrendered to police officers in the parking lot of a store, the newspaper reported.

He was reportedly taken into an SUV with New York plates.

Metro’s original story is below:

Julio Acevedo, the suspect in the Williamsburg hit-and-run this past weekend that resulted in the death of a pregnant woman, her husband, and their baby boy, told the NY Daily News he is ready to turn himself in, the News reports.

Police have said Acevedo is the driver of the vehicle that hit the taxi Nachman and Raizy Glauber were in. Witnesses saw the driver jump out of his car and run away.

Police Commissioner Paul Browne said that Acevedo was driving “at least 60 miles an hour when [he] hit the other vehicle.”

The phone call with the Daily News was reportedly set up by a man Acevedo was once in jail with. Acevedo was imprisoned in 1987 on a manslaughter conviction.

Acevedo reportedly told the News his “heart goes out to” the couple, and said he was unaware they had died until he saw it on the news.

Acevedo also claimed he fled the scene because he was being shot at. A law enforcement source said that there were no reports of “shots fired” in that area that night.

Acevedo received a DWI last month, so was legally prohibited from driving at all, the law enforcement source noted.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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Cops have released a photo of a man they say was the driver in the Saturday night hit-and-run that killed an expecting Williamsburg couple.

Police say Julio Acevedo, 44, was the man behind the wheel of the BMW that killed 21-year-old Nachman and Raizy Glauber.

Raizy Glauber was six months pregnant. The couple was reportedly on their way to the hospital for a checkup with an OB/GYN.

Doctors at Bellevue Hospital were able to deliver the couple’s baby boy post-mortem via C-section, but the child died early Monday morning.

Local Williamsburg City Council members are offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the driver or passenger of the vehicle that killed the Glaubers. The suspects fled the scene on foot after the accident, but cops were able to find the vehicle’s owner using the New York state license plate on the car left behind.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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