Two men have been charged in connection with a fight this year at a New England Patriots game that preceded the death of another man who was involved, prosecutors said.
John Vieira, 59, and Justin Mitchell, 39, both from Warwick, Rhode Island, have been charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said. They are set to be arraigned separately in January.
The men got into an altercation with Dale Mooney, 53, at the Patriots’ home opener against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Sept. 12, authorities said.
Mooney was in the 300-level seating of Gillette Stadium when he had a “medical event,” police said in September, without elaborating. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Mooney collapsed during the fight, the DA’s office said. At the time, it did not appear that he had died because of traumatic injury, and first responders were able to identify a medical issue.
A witness told NBC News in September that Mooney was punched by a Dolphins fan and fell unconscious, adding that it appeared Mooney was already in distress from the fight before he was hit.
The medical examiner determined the cause of death was a probable cardiac dysrhythmia due to the stress of the physical altercation, the DA’s office said. The death was ruled a homicide.
Based on the results of Mooney’s autopsy, as well as video that captured the fight from multiple angles, the DA’s office said it did not “determine that the evidence established a basis for criminal prosecution of charges related to homicide” in his death.
Mooney, an avid Patriots fan, was a 30-year season ticket holder, the Kraft Group, which owns Gillette Stadium, said in a statement at the time.
An attorney for Mitchell did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night. Court records do not indicate an attorney for Vieira, the DA’s office said.
