Second woman involved in Salisbury Beach brawl reaches plea deal
Apr. 5—SALISBURY — A second woman charged in connection with a mid-day street fight on Broadway nearly two years ago avoided jail time Monday after admitting to a Newburyport District Court judge she could be found guilty by a jury.
Neyleisha Marquez, 21, of Framingham, was charged with disorderly conduct, affray (fighting in a public place in a way that disturbs the peace) and assault and battery. The first two offenses were continued without a finding for six months while the assault and battery charge was dismissed.
In early March, her combatant, Isis Dominguez, 22, of Fitchburg,- pleaded guilty in the same courthouse to disorderly conduct and affray and was ordered to pay $300 in fees and fines. Her assault and battery charge was dismissed.
The May 27, 2020, fight was shot on video and quickly posted on social media. Within hours, the video garnered more than 11,000 views. The brawl took place during an extremely busy day at Salisbury Beach that, despite stringent COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time, drew a slew of people from New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
About 1:15 p.m. that day, police responded to an "active fight" next to beach pizza stands on Broadway.
By the time then-Detective Keith Forget and others responded, the fight had broken up. As Forget looked for witnesses, a woman told him that one of the combatants wanted to speak to an officer.
Forget and then-Sgt. Richard Dellaria spoke to the woman, who turned out to be Dominguez. She told the officers she was jumped by Marquez as she and her friends were walking on Broadway.
"When we asked who else was involved, Isis stated that she did not know. It was obvious that Isis did not want to cooperate with the police or provide us any useful information in the investigation," Forget wrote in his report.
By 4 p.m., police had seen a video of what was described as a "violent struggle" posted online and quickly recognized Dominguez. The other participant was later identified as Marquez, according to police.
The video shows Dominguez assuming a combat stance and trying to pick a fight with Marquez. After a few minutes of taunting each other, Marquez took the first swing.
"A violent fight then ensued where Isis and Neyleisha were assaulting and battering each other in a tumultuous, reckless and disorderly manner by punching, kicking and pulling each other's hair. They were being cheered on and almost refereed and coached by their family members, friends and bystanders," Forget wrote in his report.
Forget estimated the crowd near the fight to be in the hundreds and that thousands of people were on Broadway and in the beach area, according to his report.
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.