An arrest has been announced in the SoFi Stadium assault case, five days after a San Francisco 49ers fan was found unconscious in a parking lot and two days after the suspected beating was first reported.
Bryan Alexis Cifuentes was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of “assault by a means to produce great bodily injury,” Inglewood mayor James Butts announced at a news conference Friday, per the Los Angeles Times. The charge is a felony.
The alleged victim is Niners fan Daniel Luma, who was hospitalized and put in a medically induced coma after officers found him a half-hour into the NFC championship game on Sunday between the Niners and Los Angeles Rams.
Cifuentes was reportedly released early Friday morning on $30,000 bail.
Alleged SoFi Stadium assault caught on video
Per the Times, Cifuentes is claiming self-defense for the alleged beating.
Butts said on Friday that a video has emerged showing Luna, wearing what appeared to be a white San Francisco jersey, pushing another man, wearing a yellow Rams jersey, from behind. The other man reportedly responded by pushing Luna and striking him in the face, at which point Luna hit his head while falling to the ground. Butts described the scene as a “two-shove, one-punch altercation,” in which the greatest damage was done by Luna’s head hitting the ground.
Cifuentes was reportedly identified by police via a surveillance video that showed his car and its license plate number inside the SoFi Stadium parking lot. Cifuentes initially declined to be interviewed, then voluntarily accompanied Inglewood officers into custody after they appeared at his workplace.
Cifuentes could be facing further charges for the incident, which is up to the District Attorney’s office.
Niners fan remains in coma
Butts said Friday that Luna’s condition has neither improved nor deteriorated, per the Times.
Luna, an Oakland restaurant owner, had reportedly been attending the game alone after other acquaintances canceled on him. He was part of a swarm of Niners fans the Rams openly attempted to prevent.
The speed at which the incident was reported has since drawn question marks, while plenty have been quick to compare it to the 2011 Bryan Stow incident at Dodger Stadium. Butts downplayed that comparison on Friday, however:
“The situation in Dodger Stadium is nowhere comparable to this,” he said, “and to be blunt about it, it looked like a small altercation that went very bad. … It wasn’t like you had people ganging up on somebody and beating them.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/suspect-arrested-self-defense-sofi-stadium-assault-case-49ers-fan-coma-203554246.html
