Court Documents Reveal New Details in Stow Beating

New suspects first court appearance set for Monday morning

Two men suspected of beating San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Louie Sanchez, 29, and Marvin Norwood, 30, both of Rialto, were charged Friday with mayhem, assault and battery in the March 31 attack. They were arrested Thursday and held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

The criminal complaint filed against suspects allege the suspects "did cut and disable the tongue, and put out an eye and slit (Stow's) nose, ear and lip,'' district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons told the Los Angeles Times.

The complaint also alleges that the attack "caused Bryan Stow to become comatose due to brain injury and to suffer paralysis,'' the Times reported.

The suspects are charged with mayhem, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and battery with serious bodily injury, all felonies, according to the District Attorney's Office. Sanchez was charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery stemming from another alleged run-in the same day.

KNBC learned Thursday that the LAPD reportedly has surveillance video of an altercation between Stow and his attackers before the beating. Sources said the video shows Stow engaged in a verbal confrontation with two men.

Sanchez faces a maximum of nine years in prison, while Norwood faces up to eight years behind bars, according to prosecutors. The two are neighbors in Rialto.

Police said Stow was attacked solely because he was wearing Giants apparel while his attackers and the female getaway driver were wearing Dodgers gear.

Stow, a 42-year-old Santa Cruz paramedic and a father of two, suffered a cut tongue, lip and nostril, and lost an eye. A blow to the head caused brain damage and swelling that prompted surgeons to remove part of his skull. He is hospitalized at San Francisco General Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery after suffering a seizure due to a build of fluid on his brain.

The initial suspect arrested in the case, who was held on an alleged parole violation but never charged, has been released.

The assailants allegedly fled in a car driven by a woman. Dorene Virginia Sanchez, 31, the sister of Louie Sanchez and the wife or girlfriend of Norwood, was also arrested as an accessory but released Friday on $50,000 bail. She is due in court Aug. 19, according to Los Angeles County Jail records.

Norwood, according to the arrest records, stands about 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds, roughly matching the description witnesses gave police of one of the attackers. Louie Sanchez was listed as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 175 pounds, which also closely matches a description given by witnesses.

Fontana police described Louie Sanchez as having neck tattoos when he was arrested for drunken driving in 2005, according to court records. The LAPD has described one of the assailants in the Stow attack as having possible tattoos on his neck.

Louie Sanchez lives with his parents, six houses away from Norwood. Police on Thursday searched the homes and towed a truck that neighbors said belonged to Norwood.

A neighbor said Norwood and Dorene Sanchez live with three children, including a toddler and two older children between 9 and 11 years old. Louie Sanchez's son is about 9 or 10 and visits his father on weekends, according to a neighbor.

Witnesses to the Dodger Stadium beating reported seeing a child about 10 years old in the car in which the two assailants fled after the attack. A law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times that a child provided authorities with information about the crime.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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