A judge released Steven Dana on $7,500 bail while ordering him away from Sandy Beach and witnesses.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — A 70-year-old Hopkinton man accused of holding an injured man underwater during a beach fight was released on $7,500 bail after pleading not guilty to attempted murder and related charges.
The bail decision came two days after police arrested Steven Dana at his home following a June 3 confrontation at Sandy Beach in Hopkinton. Prosecutors sought to keep him detained, saying witness video, injury photos and a strangulation assessment showed a violent response to a dispute over lake access. A judge ruled the state had not met the legal standard for dangerousness.
Judge Michael J. Callahan’s ruling at the June 5 detention hearing set the current shape of the case. Dana must have no contact with Matthew Duffy, the 21-year-old Milford man named in court records, and no contact with witnesses. He also must stay away from Sandy Beach and may not possess firearms. The ruling followed arguments from Middlesex County Assistant District Attorney Elyse Wyatt and defense attorney David Grimaldi over what the video showed, what happened before the fight and what weight to give Dana’s lack of a criminal record. Callahan said the footage was concerning, but he also noted Dana had never been arrested or charged before and had support from family and friends. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for July 13.
Dana, also referred to in some court documents as Stephen Dana and Stephen Dion, is charged with attempt to murder, two counts of strangulation or suffocation and assault and battery on a disabled person. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Framingham District Court. Police said the charges grew out of a fight reported at 6:55 p.m. June 3 at Sandy Beach, 1 Lakeshore Drive. Officers initially asked Dana, who lives nearby, to return home and wait while they separated the parties. After reviewing video and speaking with witnesses, police arrested him without incident at his residence and brought him to the station.
Wyatt argued in court that the evidence showed Dana escalated a dispute that did not require force. She said the young men and Dana were not known to one another, yet Dana still sought a confrontation. “His behavior was disproportionate to the argument that was happening,” Wyatt said. She presented a five-minute GoPro video taken by Duffy’s friend Benjamin Osmanovic, another video angle from a news report, witness statements and records of Duffy’s injuries. Prosecutors said Dana was not deterred by the number of people present, by Duffy’s physical condition or by the minor nature of the underlying dispute. Wyatt asked for $50,000 bail, GPS monitoring and no contact with Duffy and other witnesses if the judge did not hold Dana without bail.
Grimaldi did not deny that the video showed Dana and Duffy in a physical struggle. Instead, he argued the state’s reading of the clip missed context. The defense cited Facebook material about long-running disputes over jet skis at Lake Maspenock and said comments from the younger men helped provoke the confrontation. Grimaldi pointed to a profane exchange before the slap and said one comment heard on the video suggested the group knew they might not be welcome at Sandy Beach. He also challenged the drowning allegation, saying the area where the men struggled was shallow. Grimaldi said Dana spoke with police and had been truthful, while suggesting another angle of the incident had not first been given to prosecutors. He described Dana as a husband and father with a long sales career before retirement.
The underlying police report describes a rapid shift from a bylaw dispute to an alleged assault. Officer Noah Buentello wrote that Dana told him he was confronting a group of teenagers about riding jet skis on the lake. Dana said he punched one of them and that they threw him into the water and beat him. Buentello noted Dana’s wet clothes, ripped shirt collar and redness on the left side of his face. Osmanovic then told police Dana attacked Duffy and that others had to fight to get Dana to release him. The video, Buentello wrote, showed Dana striking Duffy on both sides of the face before both men ended up in the water, where Dana was seen over Duffy and holding him under.
Duffy’s physical condition is central to one of the charges and to prosecutors’ account of the risk. Police said Duffy had been walking with crutches because of injuries from a motorcycle crash months earlier. Court documents said he had suffered severe injuries, including fractures to his spine, neck and skull. Duffy told officers he had been unable to breathe and feared for his life. He later told a television station that he could not use either arm or one leg because of his injuries and was praying Dana would let go or his friends would pull Dana off him. Police photographed redness, abrasions and marks on Duffy’s neck that an officer said appeared consistent with finger impressions. Both men declined transport to a hospital after the fight.
The dispute began at Lake Maspenock, a summer recreation area that crosses the Hopkinton and Milford line. The only boat ramp is on Lakeshore Drive and is limited to Hopkinton residents from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, according to police. Investigators said Dana confronted Duffy because he believed Duffy was not a Hopkinton resident and was improperly using the lake. Deputy Police Chief Scott van Raalten said after the arrest that residents should contact authorities about bylaw enforcement instead of taking matters into their own hands. Police said the department treated the case with seriousness because the alleged violence could have had tragic results.
The detention hearing did not decide guilt or innocence. It decided whether Dana could be held before trial as a danger to the community or to people connected to the case. Callahan said prosecutors had not met that burden. He gave Dana credit for having no prior criminal record and for support from character witnesses, while still placing limits on where Dana can go and whom he may contact. Dana left court without speaking to reporters. Duffy, interviewed near Sandy Beach, said he was fuming that Dana was out and said there was nothing he could do when Dana was on top of him in the water.
The case now turns toward the July 13 probable cause hearing, where the court is expected to revisit the strength of the evidence and the path of the felony charges. Dana remains under release conditions while the charges are pending.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.