DRACUT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two New Hampshire men were arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court this week after being accused of assaulting a Dracut man outside of a pizza restaurant.
Brothers Jeremy and James Stephenson allegedly attacked the 22-year-old victim in a parking lot near a 7/11 and Palace Pizza in Dracut.
According to authorities, witnesses heard the brothers yelling racial slurs at the man. They are accused of punching him, and James is accused of shoving the victim through a plate glass window.
The victim, who had fallen to the ground as the brothers continued to attack him, supposedly stabbed Jeremy with a shard of glass in self-defense.
Jeremy supposedly fled the scene while James allegedly kept attacking him and calling him racial slurs, and “make threats including allegedly stating, ‘you should go back to Africa,’” authorities said.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said that Jeremy “allegedly perjured himself regarding three separate facts material to the investigation” after being called before a grand jury.
Both James and Jeremy Stephenson were released on personal recognizance. They cannot make contact with the victim and witnesses and must stay away from them.
“This community will not tolerate the hate and violence exhibited during this attack,” Dracut Chief of Police Peter Bartlett said.
The brothers are due back in court on Dec. 19, 2019.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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