Taunton Man Charged with Assault at EP Restaurant

East Providence Police reported the arrest of a Taunton, MA, man after two victims alleged that he assaulted them at the Coney Island Restaurant on Taunton Avenue on March 30 at about 3 am.

Ider DePina, 30, faces two counts each of domestic assault; domestic disorderly conduct; and simple assault; plus an additional charge of disorderly conduct after police say he fled the restaurant after the alleged assaults.

Ofc. Richard Cordeiro reported that he and other officers responded to a Code 1 alert at the restaurant at about 2:50 am. The two victims and witnesses gave officers a description of DePina, who had left the scene before officers arrived.

Cordeiro wrote that he found a man fitting the description, later identified as DePina, walking west at Waterman Avenue and James Street, and ordered him to lie on the ground.

DePina followed Cordeiro's instruction, the officer noted, and said that one of the victims, who DePina identified as his ex-girlfriend, entered the restaurant and hit him in the face.

According to Cordeiro's report, DePina said he "pushed" the woman back, and that "a couple of guys" hit him before he left the restaurant.

Cordeiro arrested DePina based on an active no-contact order that identified the ex-girlfriend as the protected party.

At the same time, Ofc. Sandra Bonvehi interviewed the two women. One of the women said DePina was "unprovoked" in grabbing her hair and dragging her to the floor before striking her, Bonvehi reported.

The other woman said DePina found her outside the restaurant and grabbed her hair, pulling her to the ground and ripping out one of her earrings, according to police reports.

Bonvehi noted that she saw a black eye "develop" on one of the women, and observed the other woman's bloody ear where she said the earring had been.

The two women and two men identified as their friends completed witness statements at the police station.

At a hearing on Apr. 1, DePina posted bail and was released with a no-contact order until a scheduled Apr. 9 arraignment in Sixth District Court, Warwick.