Man charged in death of pedestrian

A Charlestown man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he was driving drunk when his Jeep struck and killed a man crossing Soldiers Field Road in Brighton early Sunday.

Robert J. Finnerty, 26, was charged in Brighton Municipal Court with operating under the influence and motor vehicle homicide, said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley's office.

Finnerty was released on $25,000 cash bail and is due back in court Dec. 2.

Finnerty's lawyer, William Crowe of Boston, said some witnesses contradict police allegations that Finnerty acted drunk and smelled of alcohol.

"Nobody saw [the victim] before the accident, which was on the right side of my client's car," Crowe said.

"The witnesses I've talked to contradict the police conclusion he was under the influence."

State Trooper John McCarthy said Michael Riley, 19, of Cambridge, was walking when he was struck in the left lane of Soldiers Field Road near Everett Street, at around 3 a.m.

Riley's mother, Barbara of Cambridge, said she last saw her son on Saturday afternoon before he left for the Stop & Shop in Allston, where he worked since attending Matignon High School in Cambridge.

"We're really having a hard time," she said. "It's devastating."

Finnerty initially denied drinking alcohol, but then was quoted as telling the trooper, "Well . . . not a lot, maybe a glass of wine or something earlier."

McCarthy said Finnerty was unsteady on his feet, had glassy eyes, and smelled of alcohol. McCarthy wrote that he arrested Finnerty after he failed two field sobriety tests.

Finnerty's passenger, identified as Alex J. Saunders, told police they were traveling at 35 to 40 miles per hour when they struck the man. He said they had been in a Kenmore Square nightclub before the crash.

Globe correspondent Jeannie M. Nuss contributed to this report.