Harry Behlin, 47, said nothing during his arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court dressed in a tan jumpsuit and blue surgical mask.
He pled not guilty to two counts of murder, manslaughter and weapons possession in the slayings of Kevin Dillard, 21, and Arnelle Branch, 17.

Victims: Behlin is accused of murdering family friend Kevin Dillard [right], and Arnelle Branch [left], in the Bronx in August 2019.

After the double shooting more than eight months ago, Behlin bolted from New York and was found hiding out in Ohio, officials said.

“He was apprehended in Ohio in mid-April,” Bronx Assistant District Attorney Timothy Collins said. “He was brought back last week.”
Since 1992, Behlin has served four state prison terms, including a 10-year sentence for attempted murder.
He was on parole for a 2014 drug conviction when he shot Dillard and Branch, Collins told Judge Ralph Fabrizio, who ordered Behlin remanded without bail.

Police investigate the scene at 2955 White Plains Rd. in the Bronx after the double homicide in August, 2019. Behlin allegedly was arguing with Kevin Dillard, 21, and Arnelle Branch, 17, when he pulled out a gun shot them 

Before his arrest, state parole officials dubbed Behlin one of New York’s most wanted fugitives, officials said. He was indicted for the double murder on Sept. 30.

“This goes to show that no matter how much time has passed we will always seek justice for victims,” Bronx DA Darcel Clark said in a statement.
Behlin was arguing with his two victims when he whipped out a gun and shot them outside a building at the Parkside Houses on White Plains Road near Adee Ave. in Allerton on Aug. 11, 2019, cops said.

Dillard was hit in the neck, and Branch was hit in the chest. Police identified Behlin as a suspect in the double murder a month later.
Behlin was tracked to Columbus, Ohio, on April 17, where he was taken into custody.
He was extradited was back to New York on April 23, and formally charged on Thursday, police said.

Wanted person poster released for Harry Behlin, after he went on the run

NYPD officers seal off the area as they investigate the scene where Dillard and Branch were slayed in August

Behlin and Dillard were close friends, the victim’s cousin, Destiny Govantes, confirmed, although she doesn’t know what sparked the shooting.

“I want to see what jail he’s going to be at because I want to visit him and talk to him because he is one of the only people that knows what happened,” she said on Saturday.
“[Behlin] was a close family friend. He knew me and my cousin since we were little.”

Despite that history of friendship, Govantes, 19, hopes Behlin is tossed in prison for her cousin’s killing.
“He broke the law, he needs to get locked up,” she said. “It’s a double homicide — he should get locked up under the jail.”