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Chief Beck: Confident LAPD Arrested Right Suspect In Stow Beating

 

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck declined Thursday to reveal the results of a witness lineup involving the suspect in the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium, but said he remains confident police arrested the right man.

Beck said Giovanni Ramirez, 31, "is and was and has been our primary suspect."

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KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports.

The LAPD also released a mug shot of Ramirez to the public.

Ramirez has remained jailed on a parole hold since his arrest Sunday, but he has not yet been charged. Investigators conducted a live lineup involving Ramirez Wednesday night. The department issued a statement saying investigators were "satisfied with the results."

At a Thursday morning news conference, Beck declined to give more details about the lineup or the investigation. He said only that the lineup "added to our group of evidence and we will present the results of it to the district attorney when we seek a filing."

Ramirez is suspected in the March 31 beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow in a parking lot outside Dodger Stadium. Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic from Northern California, was attacked after the Dodgers' opening-day victory over the Giants. Stow was recently transferred from Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center to a hospital in San Francisco, closer to his home.

Ramirez was arrested Sunday morning in east Hollywood. He was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon -- the foot he allegedly used to kick his victim -- and held on $1 million bail.

The arrest was the result of a tip from a parole officer, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said.

Ramirez's attorney, Anthony Brooklier, said Wednesday he thinks police made a mistake in arresting him.

"I just think it's a mistake," Brooklier told reporters outside the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. "He wasn't at the game. I think he's got a tremendous alibi. He is willing to take a police polygraph. I've never had anybody said that to me in almost 40 years that I've been practicing criminal defense."

Meanwhile, an attorney who represents some members of Ramirez's family said the suspect's 10-year-old daughter is willing to testify that her father was not at Dodger Stadium that day.

Chip Matthews said Tuesday that he interviewed the daughter, who told him her father was with her and other family members all day on March 31.

"She is a beautiful, smart young lady and she will happily testify about that," Matthews said. "The believability that she brings to the table will serve him well."

Beck, however, insisted that police had the right man.

"There are standards for arrest in this state. We have met that standard. We have exceeded that standard. We have met the standard for obtaining search warrants ... I am as sure as you need to be to make an arrest."

He said investigators have significant evidence beyond the lineup supporting Ramirez's arrest.

Two other suspects -- a man sought for his involvement in the assault and a female thought to have been the getaway driver -- remain at large, police said.

"We still have a score of detectives devoted to this case," Beck said. "We are still soliciting tips, soliciting information from the public. There is still a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of additional suspects. We are still looking at over 700 clues that are coming in from the public and we are still devoting every and all available resource to make sure we get to the truth of this."

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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