Indeed he was - who got KILLED off-panel specifically so Mr. Villainous could assume his ID. Storywise, any good guy named 'Speed Ferrett' is doomed - his only purpose is to be killed in order to provide an alibi. If you ever meet anyone named something like that in a comic book, it's a safe bet that either A: that's his real name, which means he's a villain, or B: it's NOT his real name, which means he offed someone for the use of it, which means he's STILL a villain.