Accused Latin Kings gang member Joseph Desmond was silent as he walked into court Friday, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands shackled in front.

"My name is Joseph Desmond," he said.

It's the first time we've heard from the man accused of fatally clubbing New York City Firefighter Faizal Coto in a road rage attack on the Belt Parkway early Sunday morning. He listened and then responded as Judge Colleen Flynn laid out the case against him:

Flynn: Mr. Desmond, you're aware you've been arrested as a fugitive of the state of New York?

Desmond: Yes.

Flynn: Do you know that New York is charging you with the offense of a violation of parole?

Desmond: Yes.

Flynn: Are you consenting to return to New York to address these charges?

Desmond: Yes.

Desmond appeared at the Middlesex County Courthouse because investigators tracked him to a motel in nearby Perth Amboy and arrested him. It's where investigators also found the gray Infiniti registered to him that was involved in the collision.

Desmond and Coto were driving on the Belt Parkway around 4:45 a.m. Sunday when Coto's Ford Mustang collided with Desmond's car near Exit 4 in Bath Beach.

Both men pulled over. Law enforcement sources tell the NY1 Investigative Team that Coto opened his glove compartment to search for his insurance card when he was hit in the face. Desmond allegedly sped off. Officers found Coto beside his car, unconscious.

"There has been a cause of death ruled by the M.E. [medical examiner]," NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said. "It was blunt force trauma, death by homicide. A firefighter sustained a significant injury to left side of his head."

Shea said Wednesday that he expects once Desmond is returned to New York, prosecutors in Brooklyn will charge him with Coto's murder. Shea said Desmond is a violent ex-con.

Coto was mourned Thursday by his fellow firefighters as a dedicated fireman.

"A really nice young man who was just starting out his career," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. "Three years into his career with the department. Senselessly murdered."

Desmond will return to New York to face those parole violation charges. Charges against him in the road rage incident are pending.