Major Development: LAPD Arrests Two New Suspects in Brutal Beating of Giants Fan
- Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:00am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — For weeks, police expressed confidence they arrested the right man in the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium. But a law enforcement official has now told The Associated Press that two new suspects have been arrested.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said Thursday that if prosecutors file a case against the men, whose names were not released, 31-year-old Giovanni Ramirez will be exonerated.
District attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said detectives have not presented a case to her office yet.
The arrests took place Wednesday and marked a dramatic development in a case that drew widespread attention to both the beating and to how the Dodgers, whose owner Frank McCourt was going through financial troubles, had cut back on stadium security.
Bryan Stow, 42, was nearly beaten to death by two men after attending the March 31 season opener between the Giants and Dodgers.
The attack triggered an outpouring of support for him, including a total of $225,000 in reward money collected from fundraisers and offered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Dodgers for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
Vigils were held for Stow, a paramedic and father of two, when he lay in a coma for weeks at a Los Angeles hospital.
The highly publicized arrest May 22 of Ramirez was hailed by Police Chief Charlie Beck as a “significant break that will lead to a successful prosecution.” But Ramirez’s lawyers argued that police were wrong.
Ramirez was arrested after his parole officer spotted tattoos on his neck that matched witness descriptions of one of Stow’s attackers.
Detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department‘s northeast division handled the initial probe that led to Ramirez’s arrest. At a news conference announcing his arrest, Beck praised the work of 20 detectives who pursued hundreds of leads in the case.
“Giovanni Ramirez is and was and has been our primary suspect on the Stow beating,” he said.
Ramirez’s lawyers, however, insisted their client was innocent. They said they found surveillance video at a Denny’s restaurant showing he had hair the day witnesses described seeing two men with shaved heads beating Stow. Ramirez submitted to two lie detector tests, provided nearly a dozen alibis and cellphone records to show where he was when he made calls around the time of the attack.
“I‘m thrilled for my client and I’m really happy for his mother and father,” defense attorney Anthony Brooklier said. “It really smelled bad right from the beginning. ”
After prosecutors declined to file a case against Ramirez, detectives at the LAPD’s prestigious robbery-homicide division took the investigation over and started again from scratch.
Robbery homicide detectives re-interviewed all of the witnesses in the case, which initially was based purely on eyewitness statements that were not corroborated with forensic evidence.
A prominent defense lawyer said Ramirez could have a case against the police department for false arrest. At the least, he is owed an apology, attorney Mark Geragos said.
“I don’t understand why the cops said they got their guy, they were so confident,” Geragos said. “It’s outrageous. They should have stopped shooting their mouths off and concentrated on the investigation.”
Brooklier said he wasn’t interested in suing.
“Under the law, the police are allowed to make mistakes,” he said. “What they are not allowed to do is make up evidence or ignore exonerating evidence. I’m going to go with this being a good faith mistake.”
A call to Beck Thursday was not immediately returned.
Stow was transported to a San Francisco hospital in May after doctors determined he was stable enough to be moved and be closer to his family in Northern California
His cousin John Stow told KION-TV in Salinas that the family was putting its faith in the Police Department as the investigation continues.
“We know that they have a big job to do and they have a lot of work ahead of them,” he said. “I know that no matter what happens on that side, it’s never going to really help Bryan. Will it possibly help someone else down the line? Absolutely.”
The arrests were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
—
Associated Press writers Daisy Nguyen and Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
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jim
Posted on July 23, 2011 at 8:58pmSad. No one deserves to have their head bashed in for cheering the opposing squad. Sports fans across America don’t realize how violent Dodger Stadium had become over the last decade… more like the hooligan culture in European soccer leagues… with fights breaking out nightly (this is before LAPD was hired by the team, after this unfortunate incident).
Free tickets were also regularly given to the slum neighborhood fans to pack the near empty seats… inviting a gangbanger crowd in on a regular basis.
The fights and skirmishes that developed were not just random drunken fights… but often extensions of territorial gang disputes. To wrap one’s mind around this fully, one has to understand that L.A. is a sprawling gangland, with each neighborhood (no matter how suburban or wealthy) staked out by a gang… 100′s of them… some powerful, some irrelevant… of which the Crips and Bloods are the most famous.
Now throw into this mix an outside challenger, like a semi-drunken “mouthy” San Francisco Giants fan, and you have disaster. The Giants-Dodgers fan feud is the worst.
The reason it’s been so hard to pin down the assailants in this case is the nature of the lowlife influence that was invited into the stadium. Why was it so hard to get eyewitnesses to come forward, or get a cell phone video of the fight… with 100′s of people in the crowd WITH CELL PHONES?? Code of silence, baby. The real assailants belong to some gang, and the regulars fear th
Report Post »LMW
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 4:47pmI’m not a big fan of the police as there are too many who are worse then the crooks but lets give credit where credit is due. They thought they had the right guy but did not dismiss the evidence showing that he was not the one. They instead have admitted their mistake and are still pursuing the case. They could have tried to cover up or even made a case but they did not..Good job and a thank you to them.
Report Post »Jamesjim
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 1:50pmTarget specific gangs, and arrest it’s members on RICO charges.
Report Post »Matlor
Posted on July 23, 2011 at 11:04am@James
Agreed!
Report Post »jakartaman
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 1:20pmSometimes stupidity has consequences.
No borders, PC – BS, liberalism
Report Post »Had enough?
2012 is coming Kalyphonya!
Gypsy123
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 12:47pmAmerican citizens can’t even go to a ball game without being attack by illegals
Report Post »author5555
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 6:28pmI haven’t heard of illegals being involved in this. Are the suspects illegals? If not, then what does your comment have anything to do with situation.
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 11:38amThey should be used for batting practice!
Report Post »REZZ909
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 11:26amThese two embarrassments to their race who bring their street mentality to a family ballgame should be shot. They don’t have the smarts to understand the difference between gang stupidity and family events. If a person of any race is wearing a jersey at a ballgame doesn‘t mean they’re set trippin’, it only means they’re supporting their team! Lack of education and respect.
Report Post »DonaldH
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 3:57pmBut this is the America Democrats are striving for.. How ya like it so far?
Report Post »mikenleeds
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:33ami hope they lock those animals up in a cage for the rest of their worthless life s
Report Post »h3llyahimerican
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:23amCops who arrested the first suspect “Hey I may have been wrong, I was in a hurry to get to my porn shoot”
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:50amSounds to me that the “suspect” had good support and good information THAT THE COPS CHECKED, and found it wasen’t him. Good for good police work, and then they found two people who they now believe did it. This means they will check out THEIR stories too. It would be nice to have instant bad guy knowledge and everything tied up neatly in a few hours, wish it were so. I remember the JonBenet case where the lawyer said if you are guilty you better have a lawyer and if your innocent you better have a damn good one
Report Post »nysparkie
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:49amFamilies with baseball bats and 15 minutes in a locked room. They will never “Hurt” again.
Report Post »sjohn70037
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:46amGee… were they black or mexican?
Report Post »Drum Man
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:53amMy money is on Illegal Messicans… just sayin’.
Report Post »Liberal Media Dropped Ball On Nine-Eleven
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:25amHe was a suspect. They find a gun in his house. He violated parole and the corrupt lawyers want to have him released because he was incorrectly ID‘ed as the one who assaulted the victim despite the police finding a gun in the criminal’s home. The criminal justice system is a sick joke on society!
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:25amWell, who WERE the two other suspects? I expected to read about them.
Report Post »Volsense
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:24amTurn you public education over to unions (NEA) and the illiteracy rate skyrockets. Turn your poice force over to unions and …………
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:30am.
LAPD starting to look like Barney. “Andy!” Can I take the Bullet out of my pocket?…..
Just get the right guy already……..
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:26amAmericans-such a peaceful people!
Report Post »Daryn J. Moran
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:19amThis is why we aren’t safe in the US anymore. Carry a weapon and travel with friends.
Goons are everywhere.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:31amThe important part of the story is that the police did not just grab their first suspect and consider the case closed. They kept working on it, which lead to the second batch of arrests.
Our own police force was accused of racism and negligence following the cold blooded murder of a gas station/convenience store robbery. People wanted a quick arrest. However the detective involved kept working it and finally managed to grab the perp as he walked out of jail for another minor crime. During the process of the investigation, the detective solved two other crimes that this guy had committed in neighboring towns and also was able to arrest the two others involved in the crime. It took over a year, but the evidence is in and he’s going away for Murder 1.
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:16am“Under the law, the police are allowed to make mistakes,” Brooklier said. “What they are not allowed to do is make up evidence or ignore exonerating evidence. I’m going to go with this being a good faith mistake.”
Wow, a lawyer NOT filing a lawsuit?? Who woulda thunk it?
Report Post »ecurbyy
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 3:42pmMaybe, just maybe the first guy did it! But he could be such a powerful influential gang/mob member that he either bought or threatened his way out of the charges. That would be the only reason no lawsuit would be filed.
Report Post »RIGHTHOOK
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:15amKeep pressing forward until they nail each and every criminal/thug associated with this horrific, purposeless crime.
Report Post »As I drove from Milwaukee, though the outskirts of Chicago and onto Indianapolis last week I saw very little graffiti or gang tagging the entire route. In Southern California “everything” is their canvass and these gangbangers and “what-to-be’s” are everywhere destroying property and lives! An all out assault on “bangers” by the “law” is well overdue in Southern California (and much of the Southwest).
Edct
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:09amMost are the illegal cockroaches coming across our border because the liberal whore politicians won’t stop the destruction of our country by these criminals.
Report Post »RIGHTHOOK
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:48am@EDCT – Agreed! It was a pleasure to see highway signs and concrete overpasses virtually unscathed with a very few exceptions. And when in the burbs and much of the downtown areas of these cities it was essentially graffiti free. They are doing something right as illegals reside in those places too.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:15amThe cops can’t be expected to get it right all the time. Their Union Thug meetings get in the way of police work at times.
Report Post »912828Buckeye
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:13amGuilty until proven innocent. 8~(
Report Post »LadyIzShy
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:08amlets hope they have the right guys and that Justice will be served
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