Police seek additional witnesses to brutal assault at Levi's stadium

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Santa Clara police are asking for more witnesses to come forward following a brutal fistfight earlier this month inside a crowded restroom at Levi's Stadium that left one victim paralyzed, a police spokesman said today.

The fight took place at about 1:20 p.m. on Oct. 5 during a San Francisco 49ers game at the stadium in Santa Clara, when brothers Dario and Amador Rebollero allegedly assaulted two men in a bathroom, police Lt. Kurt Clarke said.

Both victims, who are not being identified, were transported to a hospital. One was released but the other remains there in serious condition and partially paralyzed 11 days after the altercation, according to Clarke.

Police are looking for "additional witnesses to step forward in this case," Clarke said.

The men were assaulted in the restroom in the presence of about 50 witnesses, at least one of whom videotaped the fight while it happened, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

On Oct. 8, the Robellero brothers were each charged in Superior Court in San Jose with felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury in what Deputy District Attorney Deborah Hernandez described as an "unprovoked, vicious attack."

Amador Robellero was charged with an additional count of felony assault producing paralysis.

In a statement of probable cause to support the charges against the brothers, Santa Clara police Sgt. Ray Carreira wrote that he interviewed four witnesses to the fight, included two who were described as initially "reluctant" to talk about what they saw.

According to police, the Robellero brothers and the two victims, who are cousins, were in the men's room in line waiting to use the toilet when one of the victims, known by police as John Doe 1, nudged Amador Robellero on the shoulder to let him know that a urinal was open.

Amador Robellero replied that he did not like being pushed, and when John Doe #1 said he did not want to fight, Amador started to punch the victim, slugging him at least seven times according to one witness, causing him to fall to the floor unconscious, Carreira reported.

When the second victim, John Doe #2, charged after Amador to stop him from harming his cousin, Dario Robellero grabbed John Doe #2 and with Amador, threw him to the ground and the brothers each then punched him in the head, according to police.

One of the witnesses, a stadium employee, left the restroom to report the incident to police officers at the stadium, who quickly located the Robellero brothers in a corridor and arrested them, Carreira said.

The witness who took the video of the altercation posted it on YouTube.

The Levi's employee told Carreira that police officers at the stadium said the Robelleros each wore tattoos associated with the Norteno criminal street gang.

The Robellero brothers are set to return to court for a plea hearing on Oct. 30. A judge set bail for Amador at $350,000 and $75,000 for Dario.

Santa Clara police are requesting those who witnessed the assaults to contact Carreira at (408) 615-4849, Sgt. Tony Parker at (408) 615-4813 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 241-9495.