SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A man nicknamed “Bone” was ordered Monday to spend one year in preventive prison as Dominican authorities said they were closing in on the mastermind and motive behind the attempted killing of David Ortiz, the former Red Sox star who is recovering at a Boston hospital.
The hearing was closed to the public and officials didn’t release details, but according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press, the man, whose real name is Gabriel Alexander Perez Vizcaino, is accused of being the liaison between the alleged hit men and the person who paid them.
The documents state that a man who is in prison for an unrelated case reached out to Perez for the alleged job a week before the June 9 shooting at a bar in Santo Domingo and sent him a picture of the target to share with the hit men. Authorities said in court documents that Perez shared the picture with the other suspects as they gathered at a nearby gas station minutes before the shooting. Officials haven’t said whether the picture was of Ortiz.
The documents also state that Perez sold a gold-colored iPhone 6 used to plan the attack to a woman for $180 so he could get rid of the evidence a day after the shooting. Authorities said he claimed the phone was giving him problems and that’s why he sold it.
“He did this upon finding out that police were looking for him,” the document states.
A lawyer for Perez didn’t comment upon leaving the courtroom after the hearing as police whisked away the suspect, who was wearing a red T-shirt, a flak jacket and a helmet. He didn’t speak to reporters.
The 24-year-old suspect is one of the 10 authorities have detained, and they are looking for at least two others mentioned in the court documents, including the man accused of paying the alleged hit men.
Ortiz’s lawyer, Jose Martínez Hoepelman, said he was satisfied with how the investigation was going.
“Trust the authorities,” he said. “They have worked tirelessly to obtain the results that we have so far. We all want more information but we have to wait.”
Police have said the coordinator of the attack was offered 400,000 Dominican pesos, or about $7,800, to orchestrate the shooting of Ortiz, known as Big Papi.
He led the Red Sox to three World Series championships, was a 10-time All-Star and hit 541 home runs.
Ortiz lives in Boston but visits the Dominican Republic several times a year.
Doctors removed his gallbladder and part of his intestines before he was flown to Boston, where he remains in intensive care at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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