Police said a recorded dispute over Lake Maspenock access showed a 70-year-old man holding an injured 21-year-old underwater.

HOPKINTON, Mass. — A Hopkinton man was charged with attempted murder after police said video showed him slapping a 21-year-old man on crutches and holding him underwater during a June 3 dispute at Sandy Beach.

Steven Dana, 70, pleaded not guilty in Framingham District Court to attempt to murder, two counts of strangulation or suffocation and assault and battery on a disabled person. The case moved quickly from a beach fight report to a felony prosecution because officers said witness video showed the confrontation escalate from words to blows and then into the water.

The recording became the center of the investigation soon after officers arrived at Sandy Beach, 1 Lakeshore Drive, at about 6:55 p.m. Police had been called for a fight involving an older man and a group of younger men. Officer Noah Buentello first found Dana in the parking lot on a bicycle, wet and with a ripped shirt collar, according to court documents. Dana told police he had confronted a group about jet skis on Lake Maspenock. He said he punched one person and then was thrown into the water and beaten. As officers worked to separate people at the scene, several young men came toward the parking area from the path to the beach. Benjamin Osmanovic, 20, told police Dana had attacked Matthew Duffy, of Milford, and that the group had to pull Dana off him.

Police said Osmanovic then showed officers cellphone video. Buentello wrote that the clip showed Dana and Duffy facing each other before Dana struck Duffy with an open hand on the left side of the face and then backhanded him on the right side. The two then ended up in the water. One of Duffy’s friends punched Dana and moved back, but the video then showed Dana straddling Duffy and holding him underwater, according to the officer’s account. The officer wrote that it took friends a few seconds to realize what was happening before they rushed in and pulled Dana away. A second review of the video after Dana was booked showed Dana at the top of a hill telling the group twice, “It’s time to go,” according to court documents.

The confrontation began with a dispute over use of Lake Maspenock and its only boat ramp, police said. The lake straddles Hopkinton and Milford, while the boat ramp is on Lakeshore Drive. Hopkinton officials said the ramp is limited to Hopkinton residents from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Police said Dana, who lives in the same neighborhood, believed Duffy was not a Hopkinton resident and confronted him about using the lake. The criminal case, however, turns on what police said happened after that confrontation began. Deputy Police Chief Scott van Raalten called the incident senseless violence and said people should contact proper authorities about bylaw concerns instead of trying to enforce rules themselves. Police said there is no place for unnecessary violence in Hopkinton.

Duffy was using crutches because of serious injuries from a motorcycle crash months earlier, investigators said. Court records said he told police he had been deemed disabled after being declared medically dead and revived. He had multiple fractures to his spine, neck and skull, according to the officer’s report. Buentello wrote that Duffy had scratches on his chest and collarbone at the scene and later had photos taken at the police station. The report said Duffy had redness on both elbows, abrasions to his chest, left collarbone and lower back, and marks on the left side of his neck that looked like finger impressions. Sergeant Cody Normandin asked Duffy at the station whether he had been strangled or held underwater. Duffy replied, “Both,” according to court records.

Duffy later described the struggle in plain terms, saying Dana tackled him into the water, fought with him and then pushed his head under while not letting him breathe. “I just knew I couldn’t use either of my arms or my leg as they were both broken,” Duffy said in a television interview. He said he was praying either Dana would let go or his friends would pull him off. Duffy also said he was glad police arrested Dana quickly. Both Dana and Duffy declined transport to a hospital after the incident, police said, though Duffy later said he went to a hospital to see whether the struggle had worsened his prior injuries.

The video also shaped the first court hearings. Middlesex County Assistant District Attorney Elyse Wyatt argued at a June 5 detention hearing that Dana sought out a confrontation and was not deterred by several factors that should have stopped the violence. She presented witness statements, photos of Duffy’s injuries, a strangulation assessment and video clips. Defense attorney David Grimaldi did not dispute that the GoPro video showed the events, but he argued the footage should be read differently. He said a series of provocations helped lead to the fight, pointed to longstanding disputes over jet skis at the lake and questioned whether the water was deep enough to support the drowning allegation. Grimaldi also described Dana as a husband, father and retired sales worker with no criminal history.

Judge Michael J. Callahan first ordered Dana held without bail after the arraignment, but after the detention hearing he ruled prosecutors had not met the legal burden to show Dana was dangerous to the community or to specific people. Callahan said the video was concerning and disturbing, but he also cited Dana’s lack of criminal record, character support and long standing in the community. Prosecutors had asked for $50,000 bail, GPS monitoring and no contact with witnesses if Dana were released. Callahan set bail at $7,500 and ordered Dana to have no contact with Duffy or witnesses, stay away from Sandy Beach and possess no firearms.

Dana did not comment as he left court after the bail ruling. Duffy said he was angry that Dana had been released, saying he believed Dana had tried to kill him two days earlier. The case drew attention in Hopkinton because the alleged assault happened at a summer recreation spot where access rules, jet skis and neighborhood tensions already had been sources of friction. Still, police and prosecutors focused on the recorded physical acts, not the broader debate about who should use the lake or how boat ramp rules should be enforced. Dana remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The next stage is expected to test how prosecutors present the video, injury photos, witness accounts and defense arguments about context. The case remains pending in Framingham District Court, with a probable cause hearing set for July 13.

Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.