'A train wreck': Defense goes on the attack for Barrington dentist accused in racial assault

PROVIDENCE – A lawyer argued Tuesday that the Attorney General’s office rushed to charge Barrington dentist Dr. Richard Gordon with assaulting his Muslim neighbor in its zeal to use the hate crimes sentencing enhancement.

“Your honor, this case has been a train wreck from the very outset,” Robert Clark Corrente said in closing arguments in the state’s case against Gordon.

Corrente accused the state of being “hellbent” on applying the hate crimes enhancement when it charged Gordon, 74, with disorderly conduct and assault in August 2020 at a time when racial tensions were running high nationwide.

A District Court judge in 2021 found Gordon guilty of simple assault and disorderly conduct for his actions in a racist confrontation with his neighbor, Bahram Pahlavi, over a boundary stake.

The same judge, however, declined to sentence Gordon under the Rhode Island Hate Crimes Sentencing Act as sought by state prosecutors. The judge concluded that the state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gordon’s crimes were racially motivated.

Gordon has appealed his conviction in Superior Court, where Judge Daniel A. Procaccini plans to issue a decision Friday.

Defense argues Gordon came at neighbor with 'nothing but words'

Corrente on Tuesday faulted the Attorney General’s office and Barrington police for failing to investigate whether Gordon, the only person injured in the Aug. 3, 2020 encounter, had in fact been struck with a hammer by Pahlavi.

“He approached him with nothing but words,” Corrente said. “Even when he got hit by a hammer he didn’t fight back.”

But Assistant Attorney General John Moreira countered that Gordon injured himself when he “lost it” after Pahlavi hammered a surveyor’s stake on Gordon’s Rumstick Drive property.

Moreira argued that the evidence in two cellphone videos taken of the altercation by Pahlavi showed that Gordon was the aggressor. He pointed to images of the broken stake and Pahlavi being heard saying “Get off me. Get off me” and calling it an assault.

He accused Gordon of then trying to get Pahlavi charged with assaulting him.

“It’s just offensive. It’s trying to misuse the system,” said Moreira, who is prosecuting the case with Assistant Attorney General Keith Hoffmann.

Confrontation sparked protests

Before closing arguments, the defense called retired Barrington Lt. Josh Birrell as the final witness.

Birrell told of interviewing Pahlavi and his wife, Dr. Iman Ali, at their Rumstick Drive house overlooking Narragansett Bay with Deputy Attorney General Adi Goldstein and Stephen Dambruch, chief of the attorney general’s criminal division. The couple had refused to come to the police station or to speak with investigators alone. Their lawyer, Anthony DeSisto, was also on hand.

Pahlavi, who works in banking and attended Brown University, is a member of the Iranian royal family now exiled from that country.

Had Birrell ever seen a deputy attorney general or criminal chief involved in a misdemeanor case before? Corrente asked.

“Not to my recollection,” Birrell said.

Had Birrell ever conducted a group interview? Corrente said.

“I can’t recall,” Birrell said.

Birrell said that the couple turned over the two cellphone videos, but said that their surveillance cameras that were aimed at the altercation were not operating.

“Was Pahlavi ever a suspect?” Corrente said, referring to the investigation as “highly irregular.”

No, Birrell responded.

The Attorney General’s office ultimately made the decision to charge Gordon and not Pahlavi, Birrell said.

Ali posted the videos of the encounter on Facebook, sparking Black Lives Matter protests, one in front of Gordon’s property. Gordon can be heard in the recordings saying “[Expletive] you, [racial slur]” and calling Pahlavi a raghead.

‘Most bizarre charging decisions’

Corrente is asking Judge Procaccini to dismiss the charges.

“This is one of the most bizarre charging decisions in the history of the world,” Corrente said, adding “It is absolutely mind boggling … That anyone would charge Dr. Gordon with anything.”

Moreira countered that spewing anger and hurling racial epithets amounted to disorderly conduct and that Pahlavi had Gordon’s blood on him, proving that Gordon had engaged in unconsented touching or simple assault.

Procaccini questioned why Pahlavi had placed the stake on Gordon’s property without asking,

“I think that’s an interesting fact. That’s how it all began,” Procaccini said.

The judge wondered, too, if filming someone during an interaction could be viewed as antagonistic.

“Use of the phone shows concern,” Moreira said, adding “The way the defendant reacted was a criminal act.”

The judge commented about Pahlavi writing his own statement about the incident for police, as well as the meeting with the Attorney General’s office at Pahlavi’s house.

“Those facts are very unusual and different than anything I’ve seen with misdemeanor offenses filed by the Attorney General’s office,” Procaccini said, adding “Just accept it. That’s not how the system works.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ruling coming in case of RI dentist charged in racial assault