Pensioner, 70, ‘tried to drown crutches-wearing man, 21, in savage jet ski row’
A 70-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after police say he tried to drown a 21-year-old on crutches during a jet ski row at Sandy Beach, Lake Maspenock, before being freed on bail
Matthew Duffy, 21(Image: WCVB/abc)
A 70-year-old man has been accused of trying to drown a 21-year-old who was on crutches during a furious row over a jet ski.
Steven Dana, from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA, has been charged with attempted murder and other offences after a confrontation over lake access rules allegedly ended with a young man being held under water at Sandy Beach on Lake Maspenock.
Police say the incident happened at about 6.55pm on Wednesday (June 3), after Dana, who lives near the lake’s boat launch, became angry at a group of young men using a jet ski. The town restricts use of the boat ramp to Hopkinton residents with seasonal passes between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
As a result, investigators say Dana shouted “It’s time to go” from the top of a hill before walking down to confront the group. According to police affidavits, Dana approached Matthew Duffy, 21, from Milford, who was using crutches while recovering from a serious motorcycle crash in March.
The documents say Duffy suffered multiple injuries in the crash, including a broken leg, a broken pelvis and a fractured skull, the New York Post reported. Court papers and footage said to have been captured on a GoPro worn by one of Duffy’s friends are cited as evidence of what happened next.
In the GoPro footage, Duffy is heard saying: “Let me have fun with my jetski.” Dana had previously told him to take the craft to another lake.
Duffy subsequently refused, insisting he lived nearby and was entitled to use the water, as some of the younger men jeered at Dana: “You’re not going to do s–t.” Dana then threatened to call the police “again”, before asking Duffy if he wanted “me to shoot you”.
As Dana walked down towards Duffy and got into his face, one of Duffy’s friends challenged him: “Are you going to beat up a cripple?” Dana replied: “I don’t care, I’ll take a cripple.”
Seconds later, the footage shows Dana slapping Duffy across the face before the pair grappled and fell into the lake, while one of Duffy’s friends drove off with the jet ski. Dana was then filmed allegedly holding Duffy under water until other men ran in and separated them.
Duffy later told WCVB: “I was so scared for my life because I can’t fight back, I broke practically everything and this guy’s on top of me under the water, I can’t see what’s going on, I can’t fight back.” He added: “When he toppled on me in the water, there was nothing I could do.”
Both men refused medical attention after the scuffle, according to reports. Dana was arraigned in Framingham District Court on Thursday (June 4) and initially held without bail, but was released on Friday (June 5) on a $7,500 (£5,600) cash bond, NBC 10 Boston reported.
Duffy criticised the decision, telling the outlet: “I’m fuming that he’s out now. This is insane.
“He just tried killing me two days ago, and then it’s like, apparently you can just pay bond, and it’s wiped clean.” Duffy also described the confrontation in his own words, saying: “He literally came up to me and my friends, and was instantly being aggressive and rude for no reason, in trying to kick us out of a public space.
“We weren’t having it, so we weren’t moving, and then he eventually came down after we were arguing with each other, and then more arguing led to him attacking me and then shoving me in the water, and I needed my friends to help me get up.” The judge reportedly said the GoPro video was “disturbing” but noted Dana had no criminal record over the past 20 years.
Meanwhile, his lawyer argued another angle of the footage provided different context and that Duffy suffered only minor scrapes. As part of his release conditions, Dana is barred from going to Sandy Beach, from possessing weapons, and from contacting Duffy or his friends.
He is due back in court for a probable cause hearing on July 13, while Duffy criticised the bail decision as “insane”.
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