LOS ANGELES - Two men charged with the severe beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium are suspected of assaulting three other Giants fans at the opening day game, a law enforcement official said Monday.

Detectives believe the other people were approached by suspects Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood on the west side of the stadium on March 31.

Eyewitnesses told police they saw Sanchez assault one of those unidentified men, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Sanchez has been charged with misdemeanour assault in connection with that incident. He also is accused of misdemeanour battery on a woman at the game. The official said the woman was wearing a Giants shirt and Sanchez threw something at her.

Sanchez and Norwood were charged Friday with felony mayhem and assault charges in the beating of Bryan Stow, a paramedic from Santa Cruz who remains hospitalized with a brain injury.

Sanchez, 29, and Norwood, 30, made their first court appearance Monday. Their arraignment was continued until Aug. 10.

The Los Angeles Police Department has asked other possible victims to come forward, but made no further public statements on Monday.

The defendants were arrested Thursday in Rialto, about 55 miles east of Los Angeles. Their capture led to the exoneration of Giovanni Ramirez, a man police previously labelled as the prime suspect.

Court documents state that Norwood and Sanchez each inflicted great bodily injury on Stow, "causing him to become comatose due to brain injury and to suffer paralysis."

The case centres on incriminating statements the men have made, the official said.

Some people initially reported the men bragged about the crime to co-workers, though some are now backing off those statements, the official said.

Cell phone towers and photographs confirm that Norwood and Sanchez were at the game, the official said.

Gilbert Quinones, a lawyer who represents Louie Sanchez, acknowledged his client was at the stadium with his family but insisted he did not participate in the attack on Stow.

"He doesn't fit the profile of someone who would commit this type of crime," Quinones told reporters after his client appeared in court.

Quinones said he could not comment on the possibility of his client being involved in other assaults.

Norwood's public defender, Lee Rosen, made an unsuccessful request for his client's US$500,000 bail to be reduced to $100,000. He did not immediately address the media.

The attack reverberated throughout California and the nation as police and the Dodgers, whose financial woes have also brought national attention, sought to ease fears about violence at the storied stadium.

Stow, the father of two children, appeared to mouth his last name and might have tried to give a thumbs-up, according to a family blog post last week.

Sanchez is due back in court Aug. 1 for a bail hearing.