Giants Fan Beating Suspect Ordered Held On Parole Violation
LOS ANGELES (CBS SF) -The primary suspect in the beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium in March had his parole revoked at a hearing in Los Angeles Monday and will serve 10 months behind bars.
Giovanni Ramirez, 31, of Los Angeles, was arrested May 22 on suspicion of violating parole for a previous conviction unrelated to Stow's beating.
KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:
At a closed hearing Monday, state Board of Parole Hearings Deputy Commissioner Ali Zarrinnam found that Ramirez violated the terms of his parole by having access to a weapon, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Luis Patino said.
Ramirez had been on parole for a felony conviction a few years ago for firing a gun in a public place during a New Year's celebration in Los Angeles, his attorney Jose Romero said.
After billboards went up around Los Angeles with sketches of two suspects in Stow's beating, Ramirez's parole officer contacted police to report that Ramirez matched the description of one of the attackers.
On May 22, police found a gun in a laundry hamper at a home where Ramirez was located, Romero said.
He has not been charged with the March 31 beating of Stow, 42, a Santa Cruz father of two who works as an emergency medical technician in Santa Clara County, though he is still a prime suspect, Romero said.
Stow remained unconscious and in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, where he was transferred after receiving weeks of care at a Los Angeles hospital.
Romero said no evidence has been produced that Ramirez was at Dodger Stadium the night Stow was beaten after the Giants vs. Dodgers game.
Romero, working with a team of defense attorneys, said a number of sources that corroborate Ramirez's alibi have been forwarded to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, including statements from Ramirez's 11-year-old daughter, who said she was with her father the night of the assault.
Romero said the core of Ramirez's defense is that this is a case of mistaken identity.
"My client and defense team extend condolences to the Stow family," Romero said. "We hope LAPD finds the right guy. To have the wrong guy in prison compounds the tragedy."
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