NEW York, United States — The main suspect in the road-rage murder of a man with Jamaican roots appeared in the Nassau County Court in New York on Monday.

According to ABC News, 54-year-old David McKenzie of Baldwin was viciously beaten on Schuman Place Saturday night after what police described as a minor fender bender in the community of Baldwin.

Police say the 26-year-old man, who triggered the car crash, has a violent criminal record. According to authorities, Patrick Destine of Brooklyn had just bought himself an Infiniti for US$4,000. He was allegedly operating the vehicle while drunk, didn’t know he ran a stop sign or didn’t care.

“It was unregistered, uninsured, he had no headlights on,” said Detective Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Police Department, who explained that Destine got out of the car and allegedly started chasing and assaulting McKenzie.

Defense attorneys, however, state that right now any information regarding the incident is allegations.

“Right now, these are just allegations,” defense attorney Scott Migden said. “We’re not looking to rush to any judgment. We’re waiting for the truth to come out.”

But prosecutors say Destine stomped on McKenzie’s face and head and reportedly repeatedly told him “I should kill you.”

Meanwhile, according to authorities, McKenzie, who was only a few feet away from reaching his home, allegedly told Destine he wasn’t even going to call the police about the accident.

“David was the type of person who would try to walk away,” the victim’s sister-in-law Vivienne Williams said. “He hates trouble.”

McKenzie’s grieving mother told the news media that she lost her son for “nothing at all.”

“It shouldn’t be,” she said.

Destine was denied bail.