Retired New Bedford firefighter found guilty of disorderly conduct again

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NEW BEDFORD — A jury found a retired New Bedford firefighter with a long history of arrests guilty of disorderly conduct, the second such judgment against him in six months, and a judge sentenced him to a $100 fine.

The jury reached the verdict against Manuel Mota late Tuesday afternoon, after about 30 minutes of deliberations, following a jury selection process and trial that had begun around 9 a.m.

The jurors heard testimony about a bar fight in Fairhaven in January 2025 and Mota’s conduct toward police outside the bar, including his use of a racial slur.

“It’s been a hard year,” Mota told The Light as he left the courtroom in a bid to get to the court clerk’s office before it shut down for the day. He declined to comment further.

First offenses of disorderly conduct in Massachusetts can be punishable by a fine of up to $150. 

But Judge Teresa Lamarre chose the lesser penalty after Assistant District Attorney Kyle McPherson said the parties had discussed the possibility and agreed to a $100 fine, due to it being Mota’s first conviction.

Mota pleaded guilty in November to disorderly conduct in Quincy District Court following a December 2024 incident at a Chinese restaurant that also resulted in a $100 fine. 

Second and subsequent disorderly conduct offenses in Massachusetts can be punishable by up to six months in jail, a $200 fine, or both.

But a spokesperson for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office told The Light in an email that the January 2025 Fairhaven incident did not qualify as a second offense. For it to be considered as such, the Quincy incident and conviction would’ve both had to take place before the Fairhaven barfight. 

Mota, who represented himself throughout the proceedings in New Bedford District Court, had several opportunities to avoid the jury trial, including a chance to accept a guilty plea and a $150 fine. The last off-ramp came earlier in the morning when Judge Joseph P. Harrington gave Mota a chance to come to an agreement. 

Mota’s rejection of the plea deal led to a jury selection and trial before Lamarre about 30 minutes later. 

Mota retired from the New Bedford Fire Department with a full pension this past June, hours before a scheduled termination hearing. He had been placed on administrative leave in February 2025. In March 2025, a New Bedford Light investigation found that he had been arrested at least eight times. Past arrests have been on charges of assault and battery, leaving the scene of property damage, resisting arrest, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating under the influence, trespassing, disturbing the peace, and disorderly conduct.

Mota has never received penalties in court beyond a $200 fine or a 45-day loss of license. 

Bartender testimony

The trial stemmed from an incident in the early morning hours of Jan. 27, 2025, at Paul’s Sports Corner in Fairhaven. The prosecution called three witnesses on behalf of its case. The first was John Fernandes, the bartender on duty at the time of the incident.

Fernandes said Mota entered the bar around 1 a.m. and said he wanted to buy drinks for a table of three, including one woman and two men. He said Mota seemed confused about the price afterward, apparently not expecting the table companions to order shots.

“He went over,” Fernandes said, and shortly after, Mota and the woman began to argue loudly. “It lasted less than five minutes.”

When Mota returned to his seat at the bar, things intensified, according to Fernandes. 

“She eventually came over and jumped him,” Fernandes said. “It looked like she hit him in the face.”

Fernandes said he asked Mota and the party of three to leave the bar, and told them they would be banned from returning, but he told Mota to wait until the other group left. The bartender said he did so because, in his calculations, the ex-firefighter had begun the verbal altercation. Mota became agitated and refused to leave, he said. As Mota became more upset, Fernandes threatened to call the police, Fernandes said. But Mota called first.

Fairhaven police testimony

Matthew Greathead, the first Fairhaven police officer on the scene, testified that when he arrived, Mota was outside, angry, and smelled of alcohol.

“He was yelling at me to go investigate,” he said. “He was saying there was a terrorist attack and that it needed to be investigated.”

Greathead testified that he then approached the door to the bar and knocked. He said Mota then came and knocked so hard he thought he would knock the door down. Mota’s behavior had so scared the patrons present, according to the police officer, that the patrons asked the officer to escort them out of the bar.

“He was yelling and screaming at us for a prolonged period of time … about 20 minutes,” Greathead said. “He yelled: ‘I’m in a public place. I pay taxes. I pay your salary.’”

By then, two other officers, Christopher Bettencourt and Frank Snizek, had appeared on the scene. Mota then got more agitated, according to Greathead, as they attempted to get him to call for a ride home. Greathead said Mota even directed a racial slur, the n-word, to Bettencourt (who is white). 

“We told him to stop,” Greathead said. “He said he wasn’t going anywhere and he was extremely defiant about that.”

Mota began his cross-examination of Greathead by asking about the context of his use of the n-word. He noted that there were no people of color present at the scene. 

“When I used it, was it being used racially or in a derogatory way?”

“Yes,” Greathead said.

Mota then asked the officer about the officer’s attempts to de-escalate the situation.

“I spoke to you with respect and dignity,” Greathead replied.

Snizek, the supervising officer on shift at the time, largely supported Greathead’s testimony.

“He was amped up,” Snizek said. “It took three of us to handcuff him safely.”

The two officers said they gave Mota multiple opportunities to arrange a ride, but that all he did was call someone and keep them on the phone. Snizek said they were not willing to allow Mota to walk home due to concerns around liability.

“We don’t usually just let people walk away when intoxicated,” he said.

Mota testified in his own defense

Mota took the stand on his own behalf, the only witness he called. 

Throughout his testimony, he referred to his time as a firefighter. He said at one point that he mentioned to Greathead that he recognized the man, a former New Bedford police officer, from multiple responses they’d been to together. That also explained why he knocked on the door shortly after the officer did.

“I went up and gave it a pound,” he said, ”as I’d learned over the years as a firefighter.”

He said he and Snizek had history, though it was unclear what history, and he only became upset when he heard him say “not this asshole again” as he drove up to the scene.

“I became irate,” he said.

He also attempted to cushion his use of the n-word in terms of socialization.

“When I grew up in high school, we used it all the time among friends,” he said. “No matter their color.”

During his cross-examination, McPherson painted the scene as a power play by a man who thought he didn’t receive the deference and respect he deserved.

“You were going to show him how a man knocks on the door,” McPherson said.

“It was just to help out,” Mota responded. 

When asked why he would shout the n-word loudly in a residential neighborhood, Mota continued to insist on a lack of racial animus behind the statement.

“It wasn’t used in a racial way,” he said. “It was used in a derogatory way.

“If when I said, ‘I’m walking,’ they’d said, ‘OK,’ none of us would be here now,” Mota added.

McPherson circled back to that in his closing statement.

“Once Mr. Mota goes outside, it’s over,” he said. “He was just told to get a ride to go home.

“But he was not looking for a ride,” he continued. “He was looking to cause a scene.”

Contact Kevin G. Andrade at kandrade@newbedfordlight.org