Assault charges have been filed against two Rhode Island men in connection with a fight at Gillette Stadium in September after which 53-year-old Patriots fan Dale Mooney lost his life.
John Vieira, 59, and Justin Mitchell, 39, were charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct resulting from a fight with Mooney in the upper deck of the Patriots’ game on Sept. 17 against the Dolphins, according to The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Mass.
Both are accused of punching Mooney in the head.
Police said that Mooney was involved in a verbal confrontation with Mitchell, who was wearing a Dolphins jersey, and another member of his group, 39-year-old George Chiarillo.
The police report continued to say that Mooney approached Mitchell, “as if to indicate that he (Mooney) wants Mr. Mitchell to go with him,” according to the Boston Globe.
“It should be noted that multiple witnesses would later report that, based on his actions and statements, Mr. Mooney wanted to fight Mr. Mitchell and was trying to coax Mr. Mitchell into fighting him,” Foxborough Police detective Mark Bohnenberger added in his report of the incident.
Police said that Vieira entered the skirmish and could “be seen punching Mr. Mooney one time in the area of his head.”
Mooney collapsed after the fight and later died.
The men have not been charged in connection with Mooney’s death.
An initial autopsy in September revealed that Mooney had a “medical issue”, as opposed to dying from trauma.
“Preliminary autopsy results did not suggest traumatic injury, but did identify a medical issue,” the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Sept. 20.
The death remains under investigation.
According to the Globe, Chiarillo was charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct in connection with a different fight in the stands that day.
He pleaded not guilty on Nov. 30.
Mooney was a father of two and a Patriots season ticketholder.
He was reportedly laid to rest in a Patriots Mac Jones jersey.