How LAPD case against wrong Dodger Stadium suspect unraveled

There never was any physical evidence linking Giovanni Ramirez to Dodger Stadium or the beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow, just weak eyewitness IDs, says an L.A. Times story. Then on a polygraph test by a former FBI examiner, Ramirez passed when he said he had never been to the stadium, didn't like baseball and had no idea what a "bullpen" is. "When I walked out … there was no doubt in my mind that the LAPD had got the wrong guy," said Jack Trimarco, the former head of the FBI polygraph unit in Los Angeles.

LAPD chief Charlie Beck said the Northeast detectives made a good enough case to arrest Ramirez, but doubts quickly arose. He transferred the file downtown to Robbery-Homicide, where detectives essentially started over. "When you arrest the right person, things fall into place very quickly....," Beck told the Times. "This one just hung out there."

On Friday, Beck announced the arrest and charging of two new suspects and said that Ramirez was in the clear.