10 convicted in ’19 attack on Red Sox great Ortiz

A court in the Dominican Republic convicted 10 of the 13 people accused of attempting to murder former Major League Baseball player David “Big Papi” Ortiz in Santo Domingo on June 9, 2019.

Rolfi Ferreyra Cruz, who is accused of shooting Ortiz, and Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia were sentenced to 30 years each in prison, the longest sentence among the defendants.

Eight other defendants received sentences of between 5 and 20 years in prison, according to the verdict from the First Collegiate Court of Santo Domingo.

Victor Hugo Gomez Vasquez, the alleged mastermind of the attack, is one of the three defendants who were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

Dominican authorities have said the target was meant to be Sixto David Fernandez, who was sharing a table at a bar with Ortiz when he was shot. Authorities said the hitmen confused Fernandez with Ortiz.

Ortiz spent six weeks in a hospital in Boston after the shooting in the Dominican capital, undergoing two surgeries.

A 10-time All-Star, Ortiz helped the Red Sox end their 86-year championship drought in 2004 and batted .688 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 en route to being named World Series MVP.

Ortiz retired following the 2016 season with 541 career home runs, and the team has since retired his uniform No. 34. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot in January.

Dominican authorities said the full sentence will be read on Feb. 8, 2023.

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