Suspect in Dodger Stadium beating takes lie-detector test

Giovanni Ramirez is shown in this undated photograph obtained by The Associated Press. Ramirez has been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in the attack on Giants fan Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium after the Dodger home opener. Stow, 42, remains in critical but stable condition under heavy sedation to prevent seizures caused by the traumatic brain injury he suffered in the March 31 attack. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES - The suspect in the opening-day beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium took a lie-detector test today, but his attorneys declined to discuss what transpired during the examination, citing an agreement with police and prosecutors.

Giovanni Ramirez, 31, was arrested May 22 in connection with the beating of Bryan Stow in a parking lot outside the stadium following the Dodgers' victory over the Giants. Police said Stow, 42, was attacked solely because he was wearing Giants gear.

Ramirez has not been charged with the attack, but remains jailed for allegedly violating his parole.

Attorneys for Ramirez have insisted their client is innocent, saying he has never been to Dodger Stadium. On Tuesday, they gave investigators a list of witnesses they claim can confirm Ramirez was not at the stadium the day of the March 31 attack.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told reporters last week he was confident police had arrested the right man.

Ramirez was taken to Parker Center in downtown Los Angeles today to undergo a polygraph test. Although his attorneys wouldn't discuss the results of the test or the type of questions that were asked, they said they remain confident Ramirez would be absolved.

"We think 100 percent our client is innocent," attorney Anthony Brooklier said. "He didn't beat Bryan Stow and he wasn't at Dodger Stadium. He's never been to Dodger Stadium. He certainly wasn't at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2011, opening day."

Brooklier

said he would be "shocked" if the District Attorney's Office filed any charges against Ramirez.

"I honestly believe that LAPD and the D.A.'s Office are looking for the truth, as we are," he said. "Nobody wants to prosecute the wrong person ever, but nobody ever really wants to prosecute somebody that's wrongfully charged on this case, because that means that there's somebody out there, you know, who's smiling. We're trying to wipe that smile off that person's face. We want LAPD to get the right person."

Defense attorney Jose Romero added that prosecutors' decision on whether to file charges likely won't hinge on the results of the lie-detector test.

"I think it's a culmination of all the evidence that our offices have been able to provide and put on the table," Romero said. "This is just a piece of the puzzle to paint the ultimate picture of freedom for our client."

KCAL9 reported Tuesday that Ramirez was under investigation for attempted murder in Henderson, Nev. Citing a police incident report, the station reported that Ramirez was being investigated for a shooting that was allegedly carried out in retaliation for the 2005 killing of his daughter.

The suspect in the case was described in the report as wearing a black hoodie-type jacket with a blue Dodger baseball hat.

Romero told Channel 9 that defense-team investigators were looking into the reports out of Nevada.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18184729?source=rss

Hayden Panettiere Leonor Varela Adrianne Palicki Soft Cell Natalie Imbruglia