Giovanni Ramirez, Accused of Beating Bryan Stow, Could Be Released

Could be free soon

​UPDATE: A judge decided today that Ramirez will remain in prison another 10 months for parole violations.

Last month when police arrested Giovanni Ramirez, on suspicion of beating Giants fan Bryan Stow, there was a wave of relief that perhaps someone would be held accountable. But today, nearly a month after the arrest, Ramirez will appear in court, where a judge will decide whether to set him free.

Despite the fact that Ramirez has yet to be charged, Los Angeles police have insisted they have the right man. Yet, they remain slow to present a case to prosecutors to charge him with the brutal attack. Meanwhile, Ramirez, 31, has remained in jail for parole violations.

Officers say they found a gun in a laundry basket at the East Hollywood apartment where Ramirez was arrested last month on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Police say they are sure Ramirez was the "primary aggressor" in the attack on Stow.

Stow, who attended the opener game between the Giants and the Dodgers on March 31, had sent a text message to a family member saying he was feeling unsafe at the game, where Dodger fans were heckling the 42-year-old paramedic. When Stow was walking to the parking lot, two men wearing Dodgers attire attacked him, beating him into a coma.

Stow has not woken up since.

Police arrested Ramirez and are still hunting for a second suspect as well as a woman who they say drove the getaway car. Ramirez has maintained his innocence; more than a dozen family members and friends are serving as his alibi, claiming he was at his aunt's house at the time of the beating.

But even if Ramirez is released today, lawyers have told reporters that he will probably be rearrested, in which case officers would have to move more quickly on building a case against him because prosecutors then would only have a few days to charge Ramirez with the beating of Stow.

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