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Dodger Stadium beating: Police chief remains vague about charges against Giovanni Ramirez
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck speaks to reporters about the Dodgers Stadium beating case on June 2, 2011.
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Frank Stoltze
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Dodger Stadium beating: Police chief remains vague about charges against Giovanni Ramirez
Dodger Stadium beating: Police chief remains vague about charges against Giovanni Ramirez
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck remained vague on Thursday about when he would file criminal charges in the Dodgers Stadium beating case. Speaking to reporters outside of police headquarters, he said only that he would file charges against Giovanni Ramirez, the man who was arrested more than a week ago for the crime, "in the near future."
Beck said detectives are looking into Ramirez’s attorneys’ claim that their client was not at Dodger Stadium on the day of the beating.
“The defense claims of an alibi have added to our witness list of individuals we have requested access to from the defense so that we can interview them," Beck said. "We want to make sure that we all information that is available before we present a case.”
Beck has said he believes Ramirez, 31, is the man who beat Bryan Stowe at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day. Stowe remains in a coma, and two other suspects remain at large.
The chief and defense attorneys won’t reveal the results of two lie detector tests administered to Ramirez earlier this week, or the results of a police lineup.
Ramirez remains in custody on an alleged parole violation. Nevada authorities reportedly have said he’s also a suspect in an attempted murder case there. Beck said he's sent detectives to the state.
“We have been all over the state of Nevada relative to this case,” he said.
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Asked if his department is looking at the possibility that Ramirez is innocent, Beck said he is open to all leads.
“If the public brings me through the tip line, through the detectives, more information, I will look at that information,” he said.
Reporters also asked the chief about the 20 detectives working on the case. That's a far larger number than the L.A.P.D. usually assigns to a murder.
Beck said the Dodgers Stadium incident was more than a simple assault.
“This is an attack on the sanctity of one of our great institutions, which is the Dodgers and the ability of this region to enjoy the national pastime in a family atmosphere," he said.
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