A parole commissioner ruled Friday that the man accused of
assaulting San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium
can be held for allegedly violating his parole but found
insufficient evidence was presented that he committed the attack, a
parole board spokesman said.
LOS ANGELES
A parole commissioner ruled Friday that the man accused of assaulting San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium can be held for allegedly violating his parole but found insufficient evidence was presented that he committed the attack, a parole board spokesman said.
Giovanni Ramirez, 31, described by Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck as the main suspect in the beating of Stow on opening day, appeared at a closed hearing Friday at the Men’s Central Jail.
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Luis Patino, a parole board spokesman, said the commissioner determined “there was probable cause he violated his parole conditions” by being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
But the commissioner found a lack of evidence to hold Ramirez in connection with the March 31 beating, he said.
“The commissioner dismissed an accusation involving the attack,” Patino said. “It is not uncommon in probable-cause matters for new crimes to be mentioned but minimally. … The information presented in (the assault) case was very minimal.”
Nonetheless, Patino said, the commissioner found probable cause to revoke Ramirez’s parole on the alleged gun and ammunition violations. LAPD officers reportedly recovered the items inside a home where he was living.
Patino said Ramirez was offered a stipulated term of a year in prison without eligibility for any reduction for the violations. He declined the offer, and a full revocation hearing was set for June 20, Patino said.
Ramirez has been in custody since May 22, when the LAPD announced he was the main suspect in the unprovoked beating of Stow, who suffered brain damage from punches and kicks by two assailants.
Beck again insisted this week that Ramirez remains the primary suspect, and his department will seek charges against him. Beck’s statement came after Ramirez underwent two lie detector tests and witnesses were asked to identify him in a lineup.
Beck refused to release the results of the lineup but said he was satisfied with the outcome.
Ramirez’s attorneys went on the offense Friday, seeking to bolster their case for his innocence. Attorney Anthony Brooklier said the defense would file a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to preserve a hotel video recorded April 1 that he claims will show his client had hair on his head. Witnesses had described the primary suspect as having a shaved head.
He said a palm print left on a car by one of the suspects will prove Ramirez did not commit the crime.
Ramirez’s 10-year-old daughter was interviewed by detectives Friday, and attorneys said she provided an alibi for him on the afternoon of the beating.
“She told detectives that he (her father) was never out of sight for more than 20 minutes and that happened twice — once when she went to get a boba drink at a nearby store and the other when she went with her uncle to pick up her cousin at school at 2 p.m. that day,” said attorney Chip Matthews.
— Story by Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times
