Dorchester man arraigned in death at MBTA station

Willie Bizzell, 19, was arraigned yesterday on manslaughter charges in connection with the death of a Dorchester man who was electrocuted during a struggle at the Fields Corner MBTA station in September.

Theodore D. Faulk Jr., a 23-year-old Roxbury Community College graduate, died during the afternoon rush-hour altercation Sept. 22.

''In his statements to detectives, Bizzell claimed Faulk was the aggressor and that Faulk was 'subliminally threatening' him," said David Procopio, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

But Procopio said multiple witnesses described Bizzell as an ''unrelenting aggressor throughout the entire confrontation."

During the struggle, Procopio said, Faulk came into contact with the third rail and was electrocuted.

Bizzell of Dorchester pleaded not guilty, and he was being held on $20,000 cash bail. His lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment yesterday.

Faulk's death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Monday, but that decision was not announced until Wednesday. There have been 67 homicides in Boston this year, the highest annual total since there were 96 in 1995.

Suzanne Smalley