Two men have been hit with criminal charges for their alleged roles in an altercation that eventually ended with the death of a Patriots fan at Gillette Stadium earlier this year, TMZ Sports has confirmed.
According to the Foxborough Police Department, 59-year-old John Vieira and 39-year-old Justin Mitchell were charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct this week after investigators say they were involved in a fight with Dale Mooney just prior to Mooney’s death at the Pats vs. Dolphins game on Sept. 17.
Tragedy: A longtime #Patriots fan died at the game Sunday night after being punched by a #Dolphins fan and hitting his head on the ground, causing him to lose consciousness and never regain it.
The fan, Dale Mooney, was a 30 year season ticket holder who was at the game with his… pic.twitter.com/4nT9cQnv9k
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 19, 2023
@jasrifootball
The FPD says the charges came down after the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Mooney died from “probable cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during a physical altercation.”
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Police Want Charges For Three Men Over Patriots Fan’s Death At Game
The FPD, however, added that despite the OCME ruling the manner of Mooney’s death as a homicide … the evidence its investigators gathered did not establish “a basis for criminal prosecution of charges related to homicide in Mr. Mooney’s death.”
Vieira is slated for arraignment on Jan. 19 … while Mitchell is set to be arraigned a week later.
“We thank the members of the public who made their private videos of the altercation available for our review,” Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said in a statement Friday, “and the investigators at the Foxborough Police Department, for their help in establishing a clear picture of these tragic events.”
Mooney — who’s been described as a New England super fan — was just 53 years old.