David Ortiz is finally getting justice.
It’s been three years since Ortiz was almost killed in the Dominican Republic, and the shooter, Rolfi Ferreras Cruz, has now been sentenced.
According to TMZ, Cruz was sentenced to 30 years in a Dominican Republic prison for shooting Ortiz in the back. He isn’t the only one either; Cruz is one of 10 people sentenced to time behind bars for the shooting, with Alberto Miguel Rodriguez Mota getting 20 because he allegedly paid everyone to carry out the shooting.
Interestingly enough, the allegedly behind the whole thing, Victor Hugo Gomez Vasquez, was acquitted because of a lack of evidence.
There are some discrepancies on if Ortiz was the target or not.
César Peralta, 47, had accepted guilt as part of a plea agreement with the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on November 2 and is facing 10 years to life in prison.
Known as ‘El Abusador’ (The Abuser), Peralta led a transnational drug smuggling network that transported multiple tons of cocaine to Puerto Rico and the mainland United States via the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, and the Netherlands Antilles.
‘This conviction demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations,’ said US Attorney Stephen Muldrow said in a statement. ‘We will continue to maximize our multi-agency efforts to bring to justice those who disregard our laws and smuggle drugs into Puerto Rico and the continental United States.’
As part of the plea bargain agreement, Peralta had to turn over a restaurant, an investment company and three nightclubs.
Peralta was indicted by a US federal grand jury in Puerto Rico on November 28, 2018.
He was arrested in Cartagena, Colombia in December 2019 and extradited to Puerto Rico in December 2021.
Peralta reportedly ordered the botched assassination of Ortiz in June 2019 at a Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo, according to a private investigation that was ordered by the Hall of Famer himself and led by former Boston Police commissioner Edward Davis and included the participation of a former CIA official, Ric Prado.
Results of the six-month-long investigation were released in March and shot down claims by Dominican Republic prosecutors that the shooter, Rolfi Ferreira, had confused Ortiz with another person.
According to Davis’ findings, Peralta plotted the hit job by placing a bounty on Ortiz and green lighting the hit squad that tried to kill him.
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