Santo Domingo, RD.
The preliminary trial against a group of thirteen people accused of attempting to kill former Dominican Major League Baseball player David Ortiz, nicknamed “Big Papi,” was adjourned Friday through March 26 by the court’s decision to decide the case.
The second investigative court in Santo Domingo has decided to suspend today’s hearing due to the absence of two of the defendants, who were not transferred to the capital from the centers where they are detained.
In addition, the members of the plaintiff “were not properly notified,” lawyer Bunel Ramírez Merán, the legal representative of two of the defendants, told reporters.
The lawyer said that “the Public Ministry will have serious difficulties in proving the accusation”, which is limited to “a lot of cases”.
The attack on “Big Papi” took place in June 2019, when Ortiz was wounded in the back in a bar in Santo Domingo Este, when talking to a group of friends, communicator Joel López and Sixto David were also injured Fernandez.
Authorities investigating the incident said it was a mistake, as the perpetrators of the attempted murder mistaken him for another man.
After recovering in a hospital in Boston, where he moved after receiving care in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz ordered a private investigation which, according to the former player, also concluded that it was a confusion.
Defendants include the alleged mastermind of the attack, Víctor Hugo Gómez Vásquez or Jesús Manuel Ortiz, Junior Julio César La Hoz Vargas (Yayo or El Lindo), Alberto Miguel Rodríguez Mota, Carlos Rafael Álvarez Pérez (Carlos Nike), José Eduardo Ciprian Lebrón (Chuky ), Gabriel Alexander Pérez Vizcaino (Bone or Johan) and Franklin Junio Merán (Rubirosa).
In addition, Oliver Moisés Mirabal (El Papi), Joel Rodríguez de la Cruz (Squidward), Reynaldo Rodríguez Valenzuela (El Chino), Eddy Vladimir Feliz García (Vlady or El Nata), Porfirio Allende Dechamps Vásquez (Nene) and Rolfy Ferreira Cruz (Sandy or Brayan), accused of shooting the former player.