Fall River man to serve jail time for assault against elderly couple

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — A Fall River man was sentenced to serve jail time for an assault against an elderly couple at a city gas station, prosecutors said Friday.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said 40-year-old Roderick Dixon pled guilty in Fall River District Court last week to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over the age of 60 and assault and battery on a person over the age of 60.

Dixon was sentenced to two years in the Bristol County House of Corrections with nine months to serve.

Fall River police were called for a reported fight at the New World Gas Station on Milliken Boulevard on Sept. 2, 2022.

The female victim told police that her husband was arguing with a woman at the gas pumps when Dixon approached and started hitting him.

She said Dixon hit her husband in the head and kept hitting him once he was on the ground. She tried stop the fight, when Dixon pushed her, making her fall and hurt her wrist.

Dixon left the scene before police arrived.

The couple was taken to St. Anne’s Hospital. The male victim suffered a dislocated shoulder and the female victim had bones separated in her wrist.

Dixon told police that he was defending the young woman who was in the argument with the male victim.

Police said video surveillance footage later showed Dixon punching and stomping on the male victim while he “was on the ground and defenseless.”