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David Ortiz Upgraded to 'Good' by Doctors After Shooting in Dominican Republic
June 18, 2019
Former MLB star David Ortiz's condition was upgraded to "good" Tuesday in his recovery from a gunshot wound suffered June 9 in the Dominican Republic.
Ortiz's wife, Tiffany Ortiz, provided the update regarding his recovery via the Boston Red Sox:
Marly Rivera of ESPN revealed additional details on Ortiz's condition:
Ortiz was at a Santo Domingo bar when he was shot, according to Patrick Oppmann and Emanuella Grinberg of CNN.com. The bullet hit Ortiz's intestines and internal organs and passed through his body before hitting the leg of Jhoel Lopez.
Rolfi Ferreira Cruz confessed to firing the shot, though he said he meant to shoot someone else. Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia stands accused as the getaway driver, and Luis Alfredo Rivas-Clase allegedly helped to orchestrate the plot against Ortiz. Dominican prosecutors also say Alberto Miguel Rodriguez Mota paid for the alleged hit on the former Red Sox slugger.
Rodriguez Mota remains at large.
Additionally, Gabriel Alexander Perez Vizcaino was allegedly "the go-between for Rodriguez Mota and another suspect accused of helping orchestrate the hit from a Dominican prison, identified as Jose Eduardo Ciprian. According to court documents, Ciprian and Carlos Alvarez helped coordinate the shooting and distributed a $7,800 payment to the would-be assassins from prison," according to Oppmann and Grinberg.
Ten suspects are in custody related to the attempted murder, per the Associated Press. The motivations of Rodriguez Mota, who allegedly paid for the hit, are unclear.
"Trust the authorities," Ortiz's attorney, Jose Martínez Hoepelman, said regarding the investigation, per the AP. "They have worked tirelessly to obtain the results that we have so far. We all want more information, but we have to wait."