Two R.I. men face assault charges in Sept. Gillette fight

FATAL ALTERCATION Dale Mooney died after the fight in the stands at the Patriots-Dolphins game

Two Rhode Island men are facing assault charges in connection to a fight at a New England Patriots game in Foxborough in September involving a New Hampshire man who later died, but they will not be charged with his death, according to court records and prosecutors.

John Vieira, 59, and Justin Mitchell, 39, both of Warwick, R.I., were charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct earlier this month for allegedly punching Dale Mooney, 53, in the head.

Mooney collapsed during the fight in the upper deck of Gillette Stadium during the Patriots’ Sept. 17 game against the Miami Dolphins. He was pronounced dead at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, authorities said.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Mooney’s cause of death as “probable cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during a physical altercation,” Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office said Thursday.

Mooney’s death was ruled a homicide, but prosecutors said the evidence, including videos of the fight, “did not support a criminal homicide charge.”

Vieira and Mitchell are scheduled to be arraigned in Wrentham District Court on Jan. 19 and Jan. 26, respectively, according to court records. The charges were first reported by The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro.

Mooney, a married father of two from Newmarket, N.H., and a Patriots season ticket holder, was seated in the row behind the two men and had verbally sparred with them throughout the game, according to witnesses. Vieira and Mitchell attended the game together with a group of men, one of whom was charged in connection to a separate fight in the stands during the game, according to court records.

Police reviewed 12 videos from witnesses showing the fight, according to records.

At some point, Mooney appeared to engage in a verbal dispute with Mitchell, who was wearing a Dolphins jersey, and George Chiarillo, 39, another member of the group. Vieira joins in the argument while others in the group stand between them and Mooney to settle things down, according to a police report.

Mooney eventually got up and began walking down the stairs, appearing to motion to Mitchell “as if to indicate that he (Mooney) wants Mr. Mitchell to go with him,” the report said.

“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 wrote in the report.

Security went to the area and spoke with Mooney and the other men, and peace appeared to be restored, according to the report.

But after the security officers left, Chiarillo and Mitchell appeared to argue with each other and then began arguing with another pair of men two rows below them. Chiarillo stepped down through the rows of seats and allegedly hit one of the men in the head, knocking him to the ground.

He was charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct and pleaded not guilty in Wrentham District Court on Nov. 30, according to court records. He was released on personal recognizance.

Security went to the section again, running up the stairs toward the commotion. Mooney also ran up the stairs, pushing past security officers and initiated “a physical altercation with Mr. Mitchell, grabbing him in the upper shoulder/ neck area,” the report said.

At one point, Vieira steps in and “can be seen punching Mr. Mooney one time in the area of his head,” the report said. The fight continued with Mitchell allegedly punching Mooney twice in the head before Mooney threw Mitchell across his body and over the seats below them, the report said.

Mooney lost consciousness and the fight ended about 25 seconds after it began, the report said.