A 34-year-old Long Beach man accused of murder and drunk driving in the hit-and-run dragging death of a 1-year-old girl pleaded not guilty on for a second time Wednesday to all felony counts.
Neely Lejon Dinkins was ordered to stand trial last month for the the dragging death of 1-year-old Kaylee Alvarez last September, and the near killing of Kaylee's big brother, 2-year-old Oscar.
Disturbing testimony was given in the preliminary hearing for Dinkins, whose blood alcohol level measured nearly three times the legal limit at the time of his arrest.
He is accused of dragging Kaylee over a mile as her parents and passers-by screamed for him to stop.
The baby and her toddler brother were being pulled across Redondo Avenue at Tenth Street in a little red wagon by their parents at about 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2009.
Witnesses said a Dodge Durango, driven by Dinkins, slammed into the red plastic wagon and dragged the two children about a block before Dinkins' was stopped by Good Samaritan Ira Cohen.
When the SUV stopped, Oscar rolled out from under the vehicle landing at the Cohen's feet, Cohen testified. He snatched Oscar to safety as Dinkins sped off a second time, with little Kaylee still buckled inside the wagon, witnesses said.
Another good Samaritan followed the SUV as Dinkins wound his way around the neighborhood, dragging the baby for more than a mile before he stopped in the driveway of his girlfriend's home on Wilton Street, just off Redondo.
Throughout the incident, calls flooded the Long Beach Police Department's 911 center and officers swarmed the area, desperately searching for the SUV.
The single father is charged with five felony counts, including murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence causing injury or death to both Kaylee and Oscar and fleeing the scene of the accident.
An allegation of inflicting great bodily injury applies to a number of the counts and the defendant also has one strike on his record, all of which factored into his bail amount, set at $1.49 million.
Dinkins appeared Wednesday for a second arraignment, which is customary following all preliminary hearings. A A pre-trial conference was for April 13 in Dept. 9 of the Long Beach Superior Court.
Dinkins remains in custody in lieu of his bail.
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Neely Lejon Dinkins was ordered to stand trial last month for the the dragging death of 1-year-old Kaylee Alvarez last September, and the near killing of Kaylee's big brother, 2-year-old Oscar.
Disturbing testimony was given in the preliminary hearing for Dinkins, whose blood alcohol level measured nearly three times the legal limit at the time of his arrest.
He is accused of dragging Kaylee over a mile as her parents and passers-by screamed for him to stop.
The baby and her toddler brother were being pulled across Redondo Avenue at Tenth Street in a little red wagon by their parents at about 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2009.
Witnesses said a Dodge Durango, driven by Dinkins, slammed into the red plastic wagon and dragged the two children about a block before Dinkins' was stopped by Good Samaritan Ira Cohen.
When the SUV stopped, Oscar rolled out from under the vehicle landing at the Cohen's feet, Cohen testified. He snatched Oscar to safety as Dinkins sped off a second time, with little Kaylee still buckled inside the wagon, witnesses said.
Another good Samaritan followed the SUV as Dinkins wound his way around the neighborhood, dragging the baby for more than a mile before he stopped in the driveway of his girlfriend's home on Wilton Street, just off Redondo.
Throughout the incident, calls flooded the Long Beach Police Department's 911 center and officers swarmed the area, desperately searching for the SUV.
The single father is charged with five felony counts, including murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence causing injury or death to both Kaylee and Oscar and fleeing the scene of the accident.
An allegation of inflicting great bodily injury applies to a number of the counts and the defendant also has one strike on his record, all of which factored into his bail amount, set at $1.49 million.
Dinkins appeared Wednesday for a second arraignment, which is customary following all preliminary hearings. A A pre-trial conference was for April 13 in Dept. 9 of the Long Beach Superior Court.
Dinkins remains in custody in lieu of his bail.
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