The lineup is apparently a critical piece for prosecutors. They postponed a Wednesday arraignment for Giovanni Ramirez because they said they needed more evidence before charging him. But when the arrest was made Sunday, there was plenty of optimism.
"A significant, significant break and it will lead to a successful prosecution, I'm sure," Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said.
LA's top cop seemed confident that Ramirez would stand trial for the brutal beating of Bryan Stow.
Ramirez was arrested at an East Hollywood apartment Sunday. But the 30-year-old identified gang member says he was not even at Dodger Stadium during the Dodgers-Giants season opener in March.
Ramirez's attorney says his client was with his 10-year-old daughter.
"The girl remembers this because she doesn't get to spend many days with her dad," Ramirez's attorney Chip Matthews said. "This was the day she got to spend with her dad. Her uncle picked up she and her father, took them over to her aunt's house where they spent the entire day."
Matthews says the daughter's mother, who is Ramirez's ex-girlfriend, went to the game with two of their friends. Matthews says all of them will support Ramirez's alibi.
But the prosecution also has witnesses who saw the attack. Presumably, they were at the lineup where police hope they would identify Ramirez.
ABC7 legal analyst Dean Johnson says it is now a credibility contest.
"What both sides would be looking for now is some sort of physical evidence to corroborate the eyewitnesses or alibi witnesses," Johnson said.
Ramirez's lawyer also says his client will take a polygraph test to prove his innocence.
Johnson says polygraph tests are not admissible in court, but police may want to take him up on the offer anyway.
"You get the suspect to sit down and start answering questions and once he starts answering questions, you can find out his involvement in the crime or lack thereof in the crime," Johnson said.
Johnson adds that the district attorney can still hold Ramirez even though witnesses may not identify him in the lineup because he is in custody for a parole violation. Ramirez is a felon with a record. He is being held on $1 million bail.
Editorial Note: The booking photo of Giovanni Ramirez is from a previous arrest and was leaked from his parole file to several media organizations by an unknown Los Angeles-area law enforcement official. The image was withheld from publication until Wednesday evening at the request of the LAPD.
