Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck provided little
new information Thursday on the investigation into the beating of
San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, but reaffirmed his belief that
the primary suspect was the principal assailant in the beating.
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck provided little new information Thursday on the investigation into the beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, but reaffirmed his belief that the primary suspect was the principal assailant in the beating.
Beck also said in a news conference that the department would present its case to prosecutors “in the near future.”
Suspect Giovanni Ramirez, a 31-year-old gang member “is, and was, and has been our primary suspect on the Stow beating,” Beck said. Ramirez was arrested in connection with Stow’s beating in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day.
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“We continue down that road in our preparation of presenting a case to the district attorney in the near future,” he continued. “But we will not present that case until we have an abundance of evidence and we have looked at a number of things that are still being examined.”
In response to a question of whether he remained as confident as he was on the day Ramirez was arrested that they had the correct man in custody, Beck added, “Absolutely … I am as sure as you need to be to make an arrest and pursue a prosecution.”
Beck declined to discuss the outcome of the identification lineups that were conducted Wednesday night in an effort to have witnesses recognize Ramirez from a group of people as one of the attackers. He said only that the results of the lineups “added to the evidence” against Ramirez.
With a second assailant and a woman who drove the men away from the stadium still at large, Beck emphasized the investigation remained active with 20 detectives assigned to the case and a $250,000 reward still available.
Beck did not give a specific timeline for when he expected detectives to formally request prosecutors to file criminal charges against Ramirez, who is being held in custody on suspicion that he violated the terms of his parole from state prison.
Next week, a hearing will be held to determine whether Ramirez did in fact violate his parole.
If Ramirez is found to have been in violation, he would likely be sent back to prison for several months, which would allow police to continue their investigation without quickly having to seek charges against Ramirez.
Typically, a suspect must be charged with a crime and brought before a judge within a few days of being arrested.
Deputy Chief Jose Perez, speaking after Beck departed, declined to discuss claims made by an attorney representing Ramirez’s family members that Ramirez was not at the opening day game where Stow was beaten and that several people could provide an alibi for him.
— Story by Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times
