Major League Baseball

Beating suspect to be held for 10 months

Published Jun. 20, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The main suspect in the brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium was sent back to prison Monday for 10 months for a parole violation.

Giovanni Ramirez, 31, has been in custody since May 22, when police arrested him in connection with the attack on Bryan Stow.

Investigators said they found a handgun in a laundry basket at the house where Ramirez was staying, which meant authorities could detain him for investigation of violating parole.

At Monday's hearing to determine if Ramirez should remain in custody, a commissioner found there was cause to believe the convicted felon had violated his parole by having access to a weapon. That charge was amended from an initial allegation of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Ramirez's parole attorney said he would appeal the finding.

''The fight's not over,'' J. Christopher Smith said after the hearing.

Court records show Ramirez was convicted in 2005 of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Ramirez has not been charged in the attack on Stow and police have been in no hurry to present a case to prosecutors while he is in jail. It was not clear if Ramirez would be sent to state prison or if he would serve his parole violation term in county jail.

Ramirez's lawyers assert their client was nowhere near Dodger Stadium at the time of the March 31 attack.

Attorney Jose Romero has said 11 family members and friends have provided an alibi for Ramirez, saying he was at an aunt's house. Neighbors are also supporting the claim, Romero said.

Smith has said he did not believe authorities had sufficient evidence to show his client was in possession of a firearm. The Police Department declined to comment.

Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic, remains in critical but stable condition under heavy sedation to prevent seizures caused by traumatic brain injury.

Police say they're still looking for a second attacker and a woman who drove the car carrying the men.

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