Arraignment Postponed For Two Charged In SF Giants' Fan Beating
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The attorney for one of the men charged in the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium said Monday his client wasn't involved in the attack.
Attorney Gilbert Quinones, who represents Louie Sanchez, acknowledged his client was at the stadium with his family March 31 but did not participate in the near-fatal beating of Bryan Stow.
"He doesn't fit the profile of someone who would commit this type of crime," Quinones said.
The lawyer addressed reporters after the initial court appearance for Sanchez, 29, and his co-defendant, Marvin Norwood, 30. Their arraignment was continued until Aug. 10.
Both men were arrested last Thursday in Rialto, a desert city about 55 miles east of Los Angeles. Their capture led to the exoneration of the man police previously labeled as the prime suspect, Giovanni Ramirez.
Norwood's public defender, Lee Rosen, made an unsuccessful request for his client's $500,000 bail to be reduced to $100,000. He did not immediately address the media.
Norwood and Sanchez face mayhem, assault, battery and other charges. They are also accused of assaulting two other people after the game and before the attack on Stow.
Though there is no forensic evidence, the case centers on incriminating statements the men have made, a law enforcement official previously told The Associated Press.
Court documents state that Norwood and Sanchez each inflicted great bodily injury on Stow, "causing him to become comatose due to brain injury and to suffer paralysis."
The mayhem count alleges that they "did cut and disable the tongue, and put out an eye," but district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said that was legal language and that Stow had not had his eye or tongue taken out.
Both suspects were kept in Los Angeles police custody over the weekend. They appeared in court in their civilian clothes and not the jailhouse jumpsuits usually worn by prisoners.
Norwood wore a black T-shirt with a skull and the logo of an energy drink, black baggy shorts and flip-flops. After initially looking into the court room, he bowed his head and stared at the floor then turned his back and faced away from the public while waiting for the session to begin. He had closely cropped dark hair, light stubble and multiple tattoos on his arms, hands and neck.
Sanchez, who also had closely cropped hair as well as a mustache, wore a baggy grey T-shirt and jeans. He too faced away from the courtroom during much of the session.
Witnesses to the beating had told police one of the attackers had neck tattoos.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said more information on the evidence against the men would be released Monday.
The attack reverberated up and down California and throughout the nation as police and the Dodgers, whose financial woes have also brought national attention this season, sought to ease fears about violence at the storied stadium.
Stow, who lives in Santa Cruz and is a father of two, remained hospitalized in San Francisco. His family said in a blog post Friday that he appeared to mouth his last name and might have tried to give a thumbs-up.
Sanchez is due back in court Aug. 1 for a bail hearing.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
