Dominican court convicts 10 people in attempted 2019 killing of David Ortiz

A Dominican court convicted 10 people involved in the 2019 attempted killing of former Red Sox baseball star David Ortiz, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

Ortiz, a Dominican native, was ambushed by a man who got off a motorcycle and shot him in the back at close range while Ortiz was at a bar with friends in a well-off neighbourhood of Santo Domingo.

Two men, including the alleged shooter Rolfi Ferreyra Cruz, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison by Santo Domingo's First Collegiate Court.

Eight others received prison sentences of between 5 and 20 years. Three other defendants were acquitted due to insufficient evidence, including Victor Hugo Gomez Vasquez, who was accused of planning the attack.

The findings by former Boston police commissioner Edward Davis contradicted a previous theory by law enforcement in the Dominican Republic that the hitman was actually hired to shoot Ortiz's cousin Sixto David Fernandez, who was sitting at the same table.

Dominican authorities said the hitmen confused Fernandez with Ortiz, one of the country's most beloved ballplayers.

Ortiz was seriously wounded in the June 2019 shooting. Doctors in the Dominican Republic removed Ortiz's gallbladder and part of his intestine after the shooting and he underwent further surgery in the U.S.

Among the crimes for which the 10 men were sentenced were criminal organization, use of illegal firearms, attempted murder, and complicity, the court wrote in a statement.

Authorities noted that more details of the sentencing will be released on Feb. 8, 2023.