LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An ex-convict arrested in the severe beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium was found in violation of his parole on Monday and ordered returned to prison for 10 months.
A California parole commissioner ruled that Giovanni Ramirez, 31, had violated his parole by having access to a weapon, which police say they found at his home when he was taken into custody for the Opening Day attack.
The Board of Parole Hearings had previously found that the state lacked evidence to revoke Ramirez's parole in connection with the March 31 assault on Bryan Stow, which left 42-year-old paramedic and father of two in a coma.
Despite a May 23 press conference by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and police chief Charlie Beck trumpeting the arrest of Ramirez as a breakthrough in the case, the 31-year-old reputed gang member has not been formally charged.
Ramirez's family says he is innocent and was not at Dodger Stadium at the time of the beating, which touched off a furor in Los Angeles over what critics say was a failure by city and team officials to provide adequate stadium security.
Stow drove more than 300 miles from his home in Santa Cruz to attend Opening Day at Dodger Stadium and was set upon by two men in the parking lot following the game, apparently because he wore Giants garb.
The attack comes at a bad time for McCourt, who is fighting his ex-wife and Major League Baseball to retain control of the troubled franchise.
Major League Baseball, in an extraordinary move, took over day-to-day control of the Dodgers in April over what Commissioner Bud Selig said were concerns over the club's finances.
And on Monday, Selig refused to approve a massive TV deal between the Dodgers and Fox that would have given the financially strapped team an instant injection of cash.
That decision by Selig appears to scupper a divorce settlement between Frank and Jamie McCourt that was contingent on the TV contract winning MLB approval.
(Editing by Greg McCune)
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