According to media reports a tip from a parole agent led police to arrest a suspect in the much publicized assault of a San Francisco Giants fan in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day.
Officer Lyle Knight of the Los Angeles Police Department said he has not received confirmation that the tip was from a parole officer. But the arrested suspect matches the description of the assailant with a mole on his face.
The suspect is identified as Giovanni Ramirez, 31. He is a Hispanic man from Los Angeles, police said. He was taken into custody in the 800 block of North Mariposa Avenue recently. He has been booked for assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on $1 million bail.
The two suspects in the attack were last seen leaving Parking Lot 2 of Dodger stadium. They were driven in a light or white four-door sedan by a woman. Both the woman and the other suspect involved in the attack are still at large, police said.
The LAPD has had 20 detectives assigned to the case, and has expended more than 6000 hours in the investigation. A $250,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
According to a LAPD news release, Northeast Area detectives got the break they needed when, late last week, information from a law enforcement source allowed detectives to accelerate their investigation and focus on the suspect taken into custody early Sunday morning.
Police said since the March 31 attack on 42-year old Bryan Stow, the LAPD has received more than 630 leads from law enforcement and the community. The number of leads increased substantially after hundreds of WANTED billboards went up across the city recently.
Police say the case began when Stow was leaving Dodger Stadium along with several of his friends, following the end of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants baseball game. Then, two men who were wearing Dodger attire began taunting the victim and his friends because of their affiliation with the Giants. But as the victim and his friends tried to walk away, Stow was hit from behind. Once on the ground, the two suspects continued to kick Stow repeatedly to the head, police said. As a result of the beating Stow suffered a severe skull fracture.
Recently, Stow was moved to a Northern California hospital to be closer to his family. Stow is a paramedic and the father of two children.
Tips on the case can be referred to Crimestoppers at 1-800-222 (TIPS) 8477.
Dr. Gabrial Zada: “And he required a life-saving operation to decompress the brain and reduce the pressures, which was successful. However, since that time, he has remained in a comatose state, and our medical team has done and is doing everything to ensure that the most optimal outcome that is possible is achieved.”
