A man accused of driving under the influence of drugs and causing a deadly crash in Windham in December pleaded not guilty Friday to seven charges against him.
Philip Macri of Hiram was arraigned in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland on charges of manslaughter, aggravated operating under the influence, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated trafficking in drugs, reckless conduct with a firearm and criminal forfeiture of a firearm.
Windham police said Macri, then 28, was speeding Dec. 1 on Tandberg Trail when his pickup crashed into a pickup driven by Rebecca Perry of Steep Falls. Perry 38, was killed in the collision and her teenage daughter, Gretchen, was seriously injured.
Macri, who suffered minor injuries in the crash, had cocaine and marijuana in his system at the time of the collision, police said. He was arrested and charged in February.
Perry’s family has filed a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit against Macri and obtained a court order preventing him from transferring his assets to protect them from possible seizure in a judgment against him. The law firm representing Perry’s family alleges that Macri fraudulently transferred his Hiram house to his father two weeks after the crash.
Neither Macri not his attorney, Gerard P. Conley, would comment after the arraignment.
No one from Perry’s family was at the arraignment, but a representative of the Berman & Simmons law firm, which filed the lawsuit against him, released a statement from Rebecca Perry’s husband, Justin Perry, saying he supports the charges against Macri.
“Mr. Macri should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Perry’s statement said, in part. “He needs to be held accountable for his actions.”
A date for Macri’s return to court was not immediately set Friday. Justice Nancy Mills said she expects to hear motions from lawyers in the case in May.
Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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