Bryan Stow attackers indicted on federal weapons charges

The men who pleaded guilty last month to the brutal Dodger Stadium beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow have been indicted by a federal grand jury on a weapons charge, according to court documents.

According to an indictment filed Wednesday, the grand jury charged Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood, both of Rialto, with one count each of being felons in possession of firearms. If convicted, the men face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

Authorities said they found about a half-dozen weapons — two semiautomatic rifles and a pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun and a revolver — along with nearly 70 rounds of ammunition when they searched Norwood’s home in connection with the Stow assault.

Norwood told police that the guns were not his and that he had allowed Sanchez to store them at his residence. Federal authorities, however, said they determined that the weapons were in the possession of and available to both men.

Court records showed each man had prior convictions: Sanchez for felony evading an officer and misdemeanor domestic violence; Norwood for felony domestic violence.

The men pleaded guilty last month to the unprovoked attack at Dodger Stadium that almost killed Stow nearly three years ago — a crime that led to a temporary drop in Dodger attendance and provoked soul-searching about a sports rivalry gone terribly off base.

Norwood, 33, was sentenced to four years in prison by Judge George G. Lomeli after admitting to assault causing great bodily injury. In exchange, an earlier mayhem charge was dropped. Sanchez, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of mayhem in exchange for eight years in prison. He could have received 11 years in prison if convicted of the original charges.

Stow, 45, a father of two and former paramedic, remains severely impaired. He spent the first two years after the attack in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities and still requires daily care by his family.

Before Lomeli sentenced Norwood and Sanchez last month, Stow’s sister Erin Collins said, “To say you got off easy is an understatement. Because of you both, Bryan’s life was nearly taken from him and he will never be the same. “

Norwood, who is scheduled to be arraigned next week, remains in federal custody. Sanchez is in state custody.

kate.mather@latimes.com
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