Charges Dropped Against 2 RI Men Charged In NH Man's Death At Patriots Game: See Details

WARWICK, RI — Charges have reportedly been dropped against two Rhode Island men who were charged in connection to the death of a New Hampshire man after an altercation during a New England Patriots game at Gillette Stadium in 2023.

Justin Mitchell, 39, and John Vieira, 54, both of Warwick, had pleaded not guilty to assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors had accused them of punching Dale Mooney, 53, of Newmarket, New Hampshire, at a New England Patriots home game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 17, 2023. Mooney then collapsed, after which first responders in attendance rendered first aid, but he did not survive, authorities said.

The charges were dropped Friday "in the interest of justice," Norfolk County, Massachusetts, District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a court filing obtained by the Associated Press.

"The stadium video clearly showed that Mr. Vieira was only trying to help another individual defend themselves from an unprovoked assault," Peter Aspesi, Vieira's lawyer, told the Associated Press.

Mooney's cause of death, according to the medical examiner, is "probable cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during a physical altercation," according to officials.

While his manner of death was originally ruled a homicide by the medical examiner, the "review of the available evidence, including the autopsy results and multiple angles of video capturing the incident, did not determine that the evidence established a basis for criminal prosecution of charges related to homicide" in Mooney's death, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office said.

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