After hundreds of dead-end leads and bogus tips from reward seekers, it was a routine meeting between an ex-con and his parole agent that may have cracked open the case of Bryan Stow’s beating.
Shortly before 7 on Sunday morning, a SWAT team from the Los Angeles Police Department crept into the courtyard of a dreary, run-down apartment building on Mariposa Avenue in East Hollywood. With weapons drawn, the officers made their way toward apartment 25 — the rear unit on the second floor.
Snapping the quiet of the morning, they announced themselves with a loudspeaker and ordered the people inside the apartment to come out with their arms raised. Among those who emerged was Giovanni Ramirez, a stocky 31-year-old with a head shaved bald.
And here’s a little background on the alleged assailant:
Ramirez, who police said is a documented member of the Varrio Nuevo Estrada street gang, has at least three prior felony convictions. According to police sources, he was convicted of attempted robbery in 1998, robbery in 1999, and firing a weapon in a public place in 2005.
California is a “Three Strikes” state and I’m not sure why Ramirez was even out on the street to begin with.