NEWMARKET — Prosecutors have dropped charges against two Rhode Island men charged in connection with the death of a fan at a New England Patriots game in 2023.
Justin Mitchell and John Vieira both of Warwick, were facing charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Police said the two were in an altercation with Dale Mooney, of Newmarket, in the upper levels of the stadium, where Mooney collapsed at the Sept. 17, 2023, game in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Mooney was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges. The charges were dropped “in the interest of justice” in a recent court filing by Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey.
A GoFundMe campaign was started to help the family of Dale Mooney (pictured), a husband and avid New England Patriots fan who lost his life after an incident during a game between the Patriots and the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium Sunday.
The altercation occurred in the 300 section of the stadium during a Sunday night game between the Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.
Police say law enforcement and safety personnel responded to the upper deck at Gillette Stadium shortly before 11 p.m. They said they found Mooney in “apparent need of medical attention,” according to the Norfolk district attorney’s office. Mooney was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to the police report obtained by WCVB, video footage and interviews showed the fans getting into a verbal argument. The report noted that Mooney “initiated a physical altercation” with Mitchell by “grabbing him in the upper shoulder/neck area.”
“Then Mr. Mooney appears to lose consciousness, and the altercation ends,” the police report states.
The altercation, according to police, lasted 25 seconds.
The death was ruled a homicide by the office of the chief medical examiner. However, authorities said they did not determine whether the evidence established a basis for criminal prosecution of charges related to homicide in Mooney’s death.
The cause of death has been ruled as “probable cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during a physical altercation,” according to the Norfolk district attorney’s office.
Mooney, 53, was a father of two and married to his wife, Lisa, for 20 years, according to a GoFundMe fundraising page created to help his family following his death. He was described as “a hardworking family man from the Northeast who loved the New England Patriots.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Assault charges dropped in death of Patriots fan from Newmarket NH
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