10 Convicted in David Ortiz Shooting
Ten of the 13 people accused of attempting to murder former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz were convicted in a Dominican court Monday. Ortiz, 47, was shot in the back in June 2019 in Santo Domingo. Two of the men accused were sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The men were found guilty of attempted murder, conspiring and using illegal firearms, and associated with criminals, the Dominican Republic's Office of Attorney General said Tuesday. Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia, 26, and Rofi Ferreras Cruz, 27, were sentenced to 30 years in prison each for their direct involvement n the shooting. Ferreras Cruz allegedly shot Ortiz while riding a motorcycle driven by Felix Garcia, prosecutors said, reports NBC News.
The attorney general said that Alberto Miguel Rodríguez Mota, 28, was sentenced to 20 years because he paid the shooters. Oliver Moises Mirabal, 28, and Eduardo Ciprian Lebron, 24, were sentenced to 10 years each, while Gabriel Alexander Perez Vizcaino, 31, and Joel Rodriguez de la Cruz, 28, were sentenced to nine and six years, respectively. Franklin Junior Merán, 26, Junior Cesar La Hoz Vargas, 28, and Porfirio Ayendi Dechamps Vasquez, 29, were each sentenced to five years in prison. The alleged mastermind of the plot, Víctor Hugo Gomez Vásquez, and two others were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Investigators said the shooters confused Ortiz with the actual target of the plot. Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, whom Ortiz hired to independently investigate the shooting, disagreed. In March, he told the Boston Globe that drug lord Cesar "The Abuser" Peralta felt disrespected by Ortiz and put a bounty on the baseball star's head. Peralta was never charged with the Ortiz shooting, but he pleaded guilty in an unrelated case in Puerto Rico in November.
On Wednesday, Davis told the Boston Globe the convictions were a "successful conclusion" to the case. "This is a good outcome," Davis said. "The people who were actually the trigger pullers were convicted, and I think that's the best thing that could have happened."
Ortiz has not commented on the convictions yet. During the trial last week, Ortiz said he forgave the shooters. "I am a man of God, I forgave those boys, I forgave them a long time ago," Ortiz said, reports Listin Diario.
Ortiz made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins in 1997. After he was released, the Red Sox signed him in 2003. He helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series in 86 years in 2004 and was instrumental in the team's 2007 and 2013 World Series victories. He retired in 2016. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, his first year of eligibility.