Update 11:15 a.m.: The men accused of attacking Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium in 2011 pleaded guilty this morning as part of a plea deal. According to the Chron, Louie Sanchez pleaded guilty to felony mayhem for hitting Stow. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. Marvin Norwood got four years in prison for felony assault. Other charges were dropped in the plea deal. Stow's family attended the court hearing, where his father, David Stow, called the duo "misfits" and "cretins" and said their prison sentences were "insignificant next to what Bryan must endure," the newspaper reports.
Original story: Nearly three years after being savagely beaten outside Dodger Stadium, Giants fan Bryan Stow just might see some level of justice served today.
The media is buzzing with reports that the two Dodgers fans accused of beating Stow, an avid Giants fan, might accept a plea deal this morning, acknowledging their guilt.
Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood, both San Bernardino County residents, are headed back to court his morning and sources tell the LA Times that the two defendants are considering to plead either guilty or no contest to the March 31, 2011 beating incident after the Giants and Dodgers opening game in LA.
Both have been charged with mayhem, assault and battery in connection to the beating, which left Stow, a Santa Cruz paramedic and father of two, with permanent brain damage.
Stow's family is reportedly planning to attend the hearing to make a statement on Bryan's behalf, detailing how the beating left him permanently disabled.
On March 31, 2011, Stow and some friends had traveled to Los Angeles to attend the opening game between rival teams the San Francisco Giants and the LA Dodgers. Witnesses say the Dodgers fans, including the suspects, were targeting Giants fans with their drunken and aggressive antics.
After the game, outside the parking lot, two men approached Stow, who was dressed in Giants garb, and "sucker-punched" him. Stow fell to the ground, hitting his head and fracturing his skull. The two men, later identified as Sanchez and Norwood, continued kicking Stow in the head, leaving him in a coma for months.
Stow eventually awoke form his coma, but is now permanently disabled.
Last week, the Stow family left a brief update on his website, saying Bryan had just celebrated his 45th birthday, but still claims he's 35. "We still can't tell if he's joking or not. He has read all the birthday posts and received quite a few cards in the mail. He continues to be shocked and confused how all these strangers know who he is," the family states.
If the two accept the pleas deal, Sanchez is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison while Norwood is to receive a four-year sentence, according to news reports.
