Two men accused of attacking and severely injuring a San Francisco Giants fan after the team's season opener in Los Angeles last year were ordered to stand trial today following a preliminary hearing.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered Louie Sanchez, 30, and Marvin Norwood, 31, to stand trial on charges related to the March 31, 2011, attack on Santa Cruz resident Bryan Stow, according to Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.
Stow, a father of two children, survived the attack but suffered a severe head injury from which he is still recovering more than a year later.
Sanchez and Norwood will both be tried on charges of mayhem,
assault by means likely to produce bodily injury and battery with serious bodily injury.
Sanchez is also charged with additional counts of battery and assault with allegations that he personally inflicted great bodily injury, Robison said. The judge threw out similar allegations for the counts against Norwood.
Sanchez faces a maximum possible sentence of nine years while Norwood faces a lesser term, Robison said. Both remain in custody with bail set at $500,000 each, and will return to court June 22 for formal arraignment on the charges.
Stow's short-term memory has been severely affected by the injury,
causing him to often forget things that happened only minutes before,
according to a statement posted by his family on May 29 on a website they set up after the attack.
"Bryan still doesn't understand or realize what has happened," the family wrote. "When he expresses frustration or seems sad or confused we just
remind him of how far he has come and how strong he is."
—Bay City News Service
