Two days after being arrested for the beating of an opposing team’s fan outside Dodger’s Stadium, Giovanni Ramirez claims he’s innocent.
Ramirez was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and held on $1 million bail after he was identified as one of the three suspects in the attack.
The 31-year-old gang member was busted after his parole officer met with him and noticed a strong resemblance to the sketches of the suspect. One of the attackers was described as having a bald head, goatee and tattoos on his neck.
Ramirez’s lawyer Chip Matthews told TMZ that he has three witnesses who will testify that his client was not even at the game that day, but rather at his L.A. apartment.
Bryan Stow was beaten as he was leaving Dodgers Stadium after a game. Stow, who was dressed in San Francisco Giants gear, was beaten by two men in Dodger jerseys to the point where he suffered brain damage. Suspect 3 is a woman who drove in the getaway vehicle.
A man who said he is Ramirez cousin called into an ESPN radio affiliate and said Ramirez is innocent. He told ESPN radio that Ramirez wasn’t at Dodger Stadium that night and accused authorities of framing Ramirez and profiling him based on an artist’s sketch. He also pointed out that the description didn’t distinguish him from many other young Latino men in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants have been cross-state rivals since both teams moved to the California cities. The rivalry dates back to the days when the Dodgers home was in Brooklyn and the Giants played at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan.
Stow remains hospitalized and recently opened his eyes after being medically induced into a coma to avoid seizures.
