LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man ordered Friday to stand trial for the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium admitted in a jailhouse conversation that he attacked the man, according to a transcript of a recording.
The transcript of the talk between Louie Sanchez, 30, and co-defendant Marvin Norwood, 31, was released after a preliminary hearing where both men were ordered to stand trial on charges of mayhem, assault and battery in the 2011 attack on Bryan Stow. The men spoke after they had appeared in a lineup.
Sanchez was recorded saying he got mad at the Giants' fan for making derogatory remarks to his sister.
"I socked him, jumped him and started beating him," the transcript quoted him as saying.
He was heard apologizing to Norwood for dragging him into the situation, but Norwood said he wouldn't have felt like a man if he hadn't stepped in to help Sanchez, the transcript said. They were also quoted saying they needed to find a good defense.
The conversation was played during the hearing but was indecipherable.
Superior Court Judge George Lomeli listened to five days of testimony and evidence before concluding there will be a trial.
Stow, a paramedic from Northern California who attended last year's opening day game at Dodger Stadium, suffered brain damage and is permanently disabled.
The violence drew scrutiny of stadium security and fan behavior.
The defense typically does not present a case during such preliminary hearings. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
The ruling came after testimony by the last witness, Dorene Sanchez, who is the sister of Louie Sanchez and the girlfriend of Norwood. She testified under a grant of immunity from the prosecution.
Dorene Sanchez said she never saw Stow on the night of March 31, 2011, and did not witness the beating, but her testimony was critical because it placed both defendants in the midst of a fight after the game let out.
She testified one of the men ran to her car with blood on his hand, while the other man spewed profanity.
She said neither man told her what had happened but she became suspicious when she later saw a TV report on the beating.
In earlier testimony, Mary Dolores Donely identified both defendants as the men she saw near Stow's prone body.
She recalled hearing profanity and a scuffle before she and her husband ran toward the trouble. She testified that she heard Stow's head hit the pavement with a crack then saw a man she identified as Louie Sanchez kick him in the head and attempt to punch him.
In court, she pointed to Sanchez as the assailant and identified Norwood as a cohort who left the scene with him.