Bryan Stow Assault Case: Louie Sanchez, Marvin Norwood Arraignment Delayed To August 10

Monday morning, Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood were expected to face arraignment proceedings for their role in the Opening Night Dodger Stadium assault that left Bryan Stow in a coma with significant brain injury. However, the absence of someone’s attorney has forced a delay of the arraignment until August 10. Sanchez and Norwood were arrested last Thursday and charged on Friday with a variety of crimes including mayhem, assault and multiple counts of battery.

Whenever the arraignment finally takes place, the two defendants will enter their respective please to the crimes. Both are charge with single counts of mayhem, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and battery with serious bodily injury. Additionally, Sanchez has been charged with two additional misdemeanor batteries for his attacks on other fans that day.

Although the basic view of this case is that Bryan Stow took an ugly beating, the specifics of each of the charged crime will require proof of different degrees of involvement and action. For example, battery is the actual use of force or violence on another person while assault is the attempt to do so. Thus a person generally can be guilty of assault but not battery but often can’t be guilty of battery without being guilty assault. Here are the definitions of each crime as described by the California penal code:

Mayhem: Every person who unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables, disfigures, or renders it useless, or cuts or disables the tongue, or puts out an eye, or slits the nose, ear, or lip, is guilty of mayhem.

Assault: An unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another.

Battery: Any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.