Barrington man found guilty of simple assault, disorderly conduct against neighbor

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – A Barrington man was found guilty on misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct charges after an altercation with his next-door neighbor in August.

Richard Gordon, 71, was found guilty in court on Wednesday of one count of each simple assault and disorderly conduct.

“The State filed a sentencing enhancement in this case, pursuant to Rhode Island’s Hate Crimes Sentencing Act, on August 11, 2020. In Rhode Island, there is no free-standing hate crime; rather, a defendant must first be convicted of a criminal offense,” a release from the attorney general’s office stated.

“If a defendant is convicted of a criminal offense, there is a separate sentencing hearing at which the State must prove that the criminal offense was motivated by ‘the actor’s hatred or animus toward the actual or perceived disability, religion, color, race, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, or gender of that person.’  If the court determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the criminal offense was so motivated, the penalty for the criminal offense can be increased pursuant to the Rhode Island Hate Crimes Sentencing Act.”

A sentencing enhancement hearing has been scheduled for the 6th Division District Court for February 9, 2021.

The state proved in court, that on August 3, Gordon assaulted his next-door neighbor after the neighbor replaced a surveyor’s stake in Gordon’s yard.

Gordon then confronted his neighbor, who was standing in the street which divides the two properties. During the argument, Gordon yelled racial slurs at his neighbor, Bahram Pahlavi, before physically assaulting him.

Part of the incident was recorded on a cell phone, and quickly spread across social media platforms.

Following the August altercation, protestors gathered outside of Gordon’s home.

“The whole incident from beginning to end was despicable, it was disgusting, and it was the absolute picture of what white privilege looks like,” said Mark Fisher of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island in August.

Those who gathered said although justice had been served, they intended to keep the pressure on.