For nearly a month, the family of Hunt, the victim, begged the man responsible to turn himself in.
“We just want the person who caused this tragedy in our lives to come forward, that’s all,” Hunt’s grandmother said at the time.
Markay Hunt, 21, died after the car he was traveling in crashed head-on into a tree.
The driver had lost control near the intersection of Rock Island Road and Northwest First Street in Margate.
In the BMW vehicle were two other people, one of whom was Hunt’s daughter, who was just two years old. But she survived, as did the car’s fourth occupant, who was taken to an area hospital.
The driver also survived but fled on foot before police arrived.
Along with the pain of loss, the family faced the uncertainty of not knowing where the defendant was for 21 days.
Much to the relief of the Hunt family, who were behind the wheel that day and have already been captured, it was Ricky Lavon Lee, 22, who appeared in court early on Saturday.
And while he didn’t have to face Hunt’s saddened parents face to face, he did face justice.
The man now faces 11 charges and although his court-appointed lawyer tried to get the judge to reduce bail, arguing that the defendant had no way of paying it, the judge did not didn’t even think about it.
Lavon Lee will have to post more than $250,000 in bail. When he pays it, if he does, he’ll have a house in jail, he’ll wear an electronic bracelet, and he won’t be able to drive.