The alleged gunman who shot former Boston Red Sox superstar David Ortiz in the back in the Dominican Republic is claiming that Ortiz was not his intended victim. Rolfi Ferreira Cruz was recorded speaking to somebody from his jail cell window and explained that the people who hired him wanted him to kill somebody else. Cruz said that he was only told the color of his target's clothing, and that he shot Ortiz by mistake.
Officials say that Cruz is lying and that he was trying to collect on an $8,000 bounty that was placed on Ortiz's head.
"He can say whatever he wants in an interview," prosecution spokesman Erick Montilla said. "What matters is the investigation and what he said in the interrogation."
Montilla suggested that Cruz was just trying to avoid getting "lynched" in jail for attempting to kill Ortiz, who is immensely popular in the Dominican Republic.
Authorities have arrested eight men and one woman in connection with the shooting. Police say that they are continuing to investigate and that more people could be taken into custody.
Cruz is also wanted in connection with two armed robberies in New Jersey in 2017.
Photo: Dominican Republic National Police