Man In Court May 5 for Oakland Beach Diner Assault

WARWICK, RI — A 62-year-old Warwick man is due in court Monday on a simple assault charge after punching the bartender at Oakland Beach Diner March 15 at 10:35 p.m. after the server withdrew his beer and asked him to leave.

When Officer Frank Matarese arrived to check on the report of a customer who had attacked an employee and had been restrained, he found the bar’s owner, Marc Needham, holding a man on the ground, face up. Matarese asked if the man, Michael S. Dichiara, 62, of 89 Wilson Ave., Warwick, RI, was the person who had struck an employee, and Needham said he was, according to the officer’s report.

Matarese moved Dichiara onto his stomach and restrained him and handcuffed him, noting his bloodshot eyes and alcohol smell on his breath. The bartender, Shane Buddemeyer, 26, said he would press charges.

Oakland Beach Diner Assault: Patron previously refused service

According to witness interview and surveillance video of the assault, Dichiara had visited the bar showing signs of previous drinking on March 8, and Buddemeyer refused to serve him due to his apparent intoxication. Dichiara returned March 15 at 10:33 p.m., according to Buddemeyer, appearing drunk and acting obnoxious. Dichiara denied drinking earlier and asked for a beer, and Buddemeyer said he would serve him one, and did so.

Shortly after, Dichiara began “talking trash,” Buddemeyer told Matarese, so the bartender took the beer back. In the video of the assault, Buddemeyer is seen motioning for Dichiara to leave, according to the report. Instead, Dichiara pushes Buddemeyer and punches him with his right fist in the left side of his face, then punches him again with his left fist in the right side of the face. Needham then grabbed Dichiara from behind, and all three fell to the ground.

Matarese arrested Dichiara and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where the officer charged him with simple assualt and disorderly conduct, and placed him in a cell. Dichiara was also issued a no trespass order for the diner. At midnight March 16, officers transported Dichiara to Kent County Memorial Hospital for alcohol detox treatment.

Dichiara was arraigned in Third District Court, waived jury trial, and was assigned a public defender, and released on $2,000 personal recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in Third District Court again May 5.