Manchester Man Charged in East Hartford Bike Fatality Rearrested, Held On $2.125 Million Bond

A 46-year old Manchester man was arrested in the driveway of his Birch Mountain Road Home on Saturday and held on a combined $2.125 million bond after he failed to show up to court the previous Wednesday. The man, 46 year old Paul Andrew Bato, is facing second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving and drunk driving charges from a September 1, 2011, incident in which he is alleged to have struck and killed a bicyclist. 

According to numerous media reports, Bato was driving a red Corvette on Burnside Avenue in East Hartford on September 1, 2011, when he struck William Laramie, a 56-year old East Hartford man riding a bicycle. Laramie was taken to Hartford Hospital, where he died from his injuries a short time later. 

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Bato was charged with reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, failure to yield to a pedestrian and second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle for the incident. He was scheduled to appear in court on the charges last Wednesday, June 20, but did not show up. 

Manchester Police said they arrested Bato behind the wheel of his car at his 536 Birch Mountain Rd. residence Saturday. Police charged Bato with three counts of failure to appear, reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle while under suspension. Police set the total amount of his bond at $2.125 million, but Bato appeared before a Manchester Superior Court judge Monday who released him on his initial bond; Bato's bond for this offenses totaled $875,1000. 

Since Bato's arrest last September, he has also been and charged with first-degree harassment, second-degree threatening and breach of peace, and arrested again on May 21 of this year and charged with reckless driving and illegally operating a motor vehicle under suspension. He was released on the harassment charges on a $125,000 bond and was released on the reckless driving charges on a $225,000 bond. Bato is next scheduled to appear in court on August 2, 2012. For the incidents, Bato has been released on bonds totalling a combined $1.125 million. 

Bato has a previous conviction for drunk driving dating back to 2001, according to the Hartford Courant. 

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