Man wrongly accused in fan beating seeks release

LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for a parolee who was wrongly accused in the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium filed court papers Wednesday asking a judge to order his release from prison, a newspaper reported.

In the documents, attorneys for Giovanni Ramirez, 31, alleged that a parole board "capitulated to the political and public pressure surrounding the Dodger Stadium beating" when it concluded that Ramirez had violated parole when he was arrested in a home where a firearm was found, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The court filing also accused Police Chief Charlie Beck of participating in a "rush to judgment" when told reporters that Ramirez was responsible for the March 31 assault on Bryan Stow, the Times said.

Beck last week publicly exonerated Ramirez when announcing that two others had been arrested and charged in the attack.

Ramirez was never charged with the assault but was arrested May 22 on a parole violation.

During a search of the apartment where he was arrested, police found a gun under a pile of laundry on the first floor of the residence, according to the court papers.

The parole board concluded that Ramirez violated his parole by having "access to the firearm" and ordered that he serve 10 months in prison.

Ramirez's attorneys, J. Christopher Smith and Bruce Zucker, argued in the latest court documents that there was no evidence to show Ramirez knew the firearm was in the apartment.

The attorneys said the laundry basket where the gun was found belonged to another resident who was on probation at the time of the police search.

Ramirez was visiting the apartment, where he occasionally stayed overnight, not a resident, according to the court filing.

Louis Sanchez, 29, and Marvin Norwood, 30, were charged last week with felony mayhem and assault charges in the beating of Stow, a paramedic from Santa Cruz who remains hospitalized with a brain injury.