A Palos Verdes Estates resident who punched a man in a parking lot at Dodger Stadium after a Dodgers-Mets game in October 2015, causing the victim to sustain serious head injuries, was sentenced Wednesday to 14 days in jail.
Michael Rae Papayans, 29, initially pleaded no contest in February 2017 to a felony count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, but the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor after he paid more than $100,000 in restitution to the victim and completed 80 days of community service and an anger management course.
Papayans was charged in February 2016 for punching the then-50-year- old victim in the head, knocking him unconscious after the Oct. 9, 2015, game. As the man fell to the ground, he struck his head on the pavement, resulting in serious head injuries, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The assault victim was among a group of four people -- one of whom was wearing Mets attire -- who were confronted by Papayans' mother as they walked to their car after the game, and her son joined in a verbal dispute with the group before punching the man, who was not in Mets attire, according to prosecutors.
Four days after the attack, Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck asked for the public's help in solving the case. Papayans was arrested in February 2016, then released the next day on a $30,000 bond. The attack occurred about 4 1/2 years after San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was assaulted in a parking lot at Dodger Stadium.
Stow was involved in a post-game confrontation in the parking lot and fell to the ground, cracking his skull on the pavement. Stow eventually regained consciousness but suffered permanent brain damage. Two men pleaded guilty to attacking Stow and were sentenced to state prison. The March 31, 2011, attack led to questions about the adequacy of security at Dodger Stadium. Stow sued the team and was awarded $18 million.
