Phone Tip Worked Where Police Work Failed in Giants Fan Beating Arrest

After 6,000 hours of police work, it was a phone tip stemming from billboards and leaflets that led to the arrest of one of the suspects.

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A tip from Giovanni Ramirez's parole agent ended a seven-week manhunt Sunday, when the 31-year old was arrested at his East Hollywood apartment. Ramirez is who police believe was "the primary aggressor" in the March 31 beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow, according to reports.

A composite sketch of one of the suspects, who ended up being Ramirez, was posted on Los Angeles-area billboards and printed on leaflets in the weeks since Stow was left unconscious following Opening Day of the baseball season. He and several friends were attacked in the Dodger Stadium parking lot following the Giants-Dodgers season opener.

The Sunday morning raid, in which a SWAT team took Ramirez into custody, culminated 6,000 hours of detective work more than 20 detectives put into the case, according to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who choked back tears at a news conference announcing the arrest on Sunday.

Stow, 42, a Santa Clara County paramedic, has been unconscious since the attack. He is undergoing treatment for traumatic brain injury at San Francisco General Hospital.

LAPD is now back to work attempting to find the next two suspects: a man and a woman. The woman drove the getaway car while wearing a Dodgers jersey with the name and No. 16 number of outfielder Andre Ethier. The reward for information leading to more arrests has been bumped to $250,000.

According to neighbors, the sketch, which led to the tip, led to a massive raid in East Hollywood with a helicopter assisting the SWAT team.

The sketch was kind of vague, according to one.

"It could have been anyone around here," neighbor Jesus Lizama, 20, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Damn, if I had known, I'd have been into that 200k [reward money]."

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