Three Newport Residents Plead Not Guilty in Assault and Robbery Case

NEWPORT — Footage from the police department’s exterior video camera is part of felony crime cases against three Newport residents accused of assault and robbery. Joseph A. Balcom, Jr., age 40, James Higginson, 41, and Jennine Dubois, 39, appeared before Judge Justin Jiron on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to three charges: assault and robbery, aiding in the commission of a felony and lying to police. The officer’s investigation relied on witness statements and video camera footage to establish the charges. The trio is accused of assaulting Nathanael Bagley, 26, and trying to take a bag from him. When police first got involved in the late-night incident, it was because Dubois, Balcom and Higginson claimed they were assaulted.