Orioles Pitcher Surrenders to Cops in Murder Investigation
- Posted on January 3, 2011 at 7:03pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Baltimore Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon surrendered to police Monday to face an involuntary manslaughter charge in a fatal shooting New Year’s Eve. His lawyer said he was firing celebratory shots in the air.
The Dominican pitcher is suspected of killing 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte and wounding his 17-year-old brother in the northeast coastal town of Luperon. The dead man is Simon’s cousin, according to the player’s lawyer.
Police initially said a murder charge would be filed against Simon, but Public Prosecutor Victor Mueses told The Associated Press on Monday that witness accounts and evidence support an involuntary manslaughter charge instead.
“The version that we have is that there was a dispute between two women and he tried to dissolve it, fired a shot that ended up wounding a young person in the arm and that same bullet lodged in the chest of the deceased,” Mueses said by phone.
Simon is to appear at the Puerto Plata courthouse for arraignment later in the day. He could face up to two years in prison if found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Mueses, the public prosecutor in Puerto Plata, said he will request three months of preventive detention for Simon while the case is pending.
Simon’s lawyer, Carlos Olivares, told the AP his client fired random shots with a group of local boys. But he believes Simon could not have been the shooter because the player’s cousin was shot in the chest.
“We are giving the weapon so that the national police can do the pertinent ballistics tests,” Olivares said.
Ballistics test should be completed in the next 48 hours, according to Dominican Police Chief Jose Polanco.
Some Dominicans shoot guns in the air on New Year’s Eve especially in the hours leading to midnight, although authorities have repeatedly warned against the practice. Bystanders are killed or wounded every New Year’s Eve.
Simon was accompanied to the police station by Julio Lugo, the free agent second baseman for the Orioles.
“He is scared because he recognizes that he fired shots, although they went into the air,” said Lugo, who advised Simon to surrender after he fled the scene.
The injured teenager was shot in the right arm and remains hospitalized in the Dominican city of Santiago.
Simon joined Baltimore in 2008 but was quickly sidelined with an injury. The 29-year-old pitcher went 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA last season. He had 17 saves before Orioles manager Buck Showalter decided to make Koji Uehara the closer.
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dontbotherme
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 6:51pmThe ballistics test will tell the truth. This report does not make sense. Something stinks.
Report Post »MikeBittner
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 10:12amIt’s a shame about this guy. I actually was the cable man for this guy and hooked him up…very nice guy too, when he was with the Norfolk Tides, right before getting called up to the big leagues. Shame
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:59amThe article contradicts itself. It says he was firing celebratory shots into the air for new years in one sentence, then later is says he shot the gun in attempt to “dissolve” a dispute between some people.
Also like has already been pointed out there are two major problems with the accounts of the incident. A bullet fired into the air then falling back to earth isn’t capable of killing someone. It’s unlikely it would break your skin let alone be deadly, and it certainly isn’t going clean through the arm of one person and far enough into the chest of another to prove fatal. And the bullet going through one person and into another seems to indicate pretty clearly that it wasn’t coming down from the sky.
There is a lot to this story that doesn’t add up. Not likely the full story will ever be known though. It is Puerto Rico after all. Not exactly the paragon of justice, and a MLB player is like royalty in a place like that.
Report Post »Reagan/DeMint.deciple
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 9:26amIt’s the Dominican Republic…. Not Puerto Rico…
Report Post »Xcori8r
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:04amFlakey story. Gun fired straight up couldn’t kill, let alone penetrate two people.Maybe accidental trigger pull. It was fired in the air alright, but at a low elevation.
Report Post »flagbearer
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 10:39pmThere’s only one way that is going to stop behavior like this and that of Michael Vick and Tiger Woods and others. If your moral behavior is not high, your contract becomes null and void. If they know they are apt to lose what they love most–the game and the money it earns–they may think twice. But knowing they are going to be given a second and a third chance and be “forgiven” by fans and the president, then they feel above any law, legal or moral. KICK them out and do not let them ever play in a league again. They are supposed to be role models.
Report Post »beebacksoon
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 11:32pmFlagbearer: I agree 100%. If the prez would just butt out the criminal would get a stiffer sentence. 2 yrs for killing someone? Drug dealers get more time! Something doesn’t pass the smell test..it sure stinks!
Report Post »angelite49
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 10:33pmI think the jury is still out on downward trajectory and the damage it can do (http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy05/phy05051.htm) but what are the chances a random shot into the air would come down and kill the shooter’s cousin? Not impossible, perhaps, but I am hoping ballistics testing proves it wasn’t his gun.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 10:45pmIf one person was hit in the arm and another in the chest, the bullit was horozontal not verticle. Something about this story stinks.
Report Post »MEMYSELFANDIRENE
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 9:03pmMyth Busters did a show and a bullet shot up in the air doesn’t even have enough power to break the skin let alone kill someone. Sounds like the ball player is getting a bad rap. Who would have knew… so who wants to watch another episode of Eastbound & Down?
Report Post »MEMYSELFANDIRENE
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 9:08pm…doesn’t even have enough power on the way down that is… just in case we have any wise guys on here. lol
Report Post »FoxholeAtheist
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 8:21pmI wonder if he’s quoted the Bible after winning a game.
Report Post »AlaskaRick
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 10:58pmI wonder if Stalin, Lenin, and Mao thought like you?
Report Post »neverending
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 8:15pmOhwonderful – another great role model!!
Report Post »Plankchapel
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 8:09pmI don‘t hold a gun unless I’m cleaning it, loading it, or aiming it at somebody who needs killing at that moment when there’s no other alternative. Otherwise, it’s tucked away on its satin pillow in the woodwork.
Report Post »troyvar
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 7:46pmGotta be careful of anything you shoot into the air (arrows, for instance), but I’ll bet a lot more people are killed by lightning in a year, than bullets fired up…
Report Post »Oh, God!
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 7:28pmThey always forget about the gravity thing. What goes up, must come down
Report Post »chips1
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 8:11pmDo they have the three strikes laws down there?
Report Post »byehlik
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 7:18pmShooting guns in the air is sort of wide area russian roulette. Not a good idea in the first place. Bummer.
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