Authorities in the Dominican Republican have identified Alberto Miguel Rodriguez Mota as the man who allegedly paid hitmen to kill former Boston Red Sox star, David Ortiz.
The Associated Press reported that Mota was identified by Gabriel Alexander Perez Vizcaino, whose nickname is “Bone.” Perez was in court in connection with the attack on Ortiz, and believed to be “the liaison between the alleged hitmen and the person who paid them,” the AP reported.
Yet another suspect, who is already in prison for unrelated crimes, allegedly contacted Perez to set up the hit and gave him Ortiz’s picture to give to the hitmen. Perez is accused of giving the hitmen the picture mere moments before they approached Ortiz and shot him. Court documents reviewed by the AP stated that the day after the attack, Perez sold a gold-colored iPhone 6 for $180. Authorities said he used the phone to plan the attack, but he claimed he sold it because it wasn’t working properly.
“He did this upon finding out that police were looking for him,” court documents said, according to the AP.
Perez is just one of 10 suspects detained by police in connection to the shooting of the baseball legend. They are still looking for two other men, including the one who allegedly paid the hitmen.
Ortiz’s attorney, Jose Martinez Hoepelman, told the AP that he trusts the authorities.
“They have worked tirelessly to obtain the results that we have so far. We all want more information, but we have to wait,” he said.
The AP also reported that police said the man who coordinated the attack “was offered 400,000 Dominican pesos, or about $7,800,” for his services.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Ortiz was shot on June 9 at a club in his native Dominican Republic. Surveillance footage shows two men approach him on a motorcycle and shoot him after a few words were exchanged. Ortiz can be shown slumping over in the video.
Ortiz had to have “portions of his intestines, colon and his gallbladder” removed to stop internal bleeding, according to his assistant Leo Lopez.
About two days after the shooting, Ortiz was in stable enough condition to travel to a hospital in Boston, where he is still recovering.
In response to the shooting, Ortiz’s former team provided a statement offering his family “all available resources to aid in his recovery and will continue to keep them in our hearts.”
MLB also offered support for Ortiz, also known as “Big Papi.”
“Our thoughts are with David Ortiz, who is reportedly hospitalized after being shot in his hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic,” the league tweeted.