Officials arrest suspect in Ortiz shooting
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Authorities in the Dominican Republic said Friday that they have arrested the man behind the shooting of baseball great David Ortiz in an apparent case of mistaken identity.
Police said Victor Hugo Gomez, of Katy, was detained in the Caribbean country. No further details were immediately released.
Authorities had said last week that they believed Gomez was living in the U.S. and described him as a dangerous fugitive, adding that he was an associate of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel.
He is accused of ordering the killing of his cousin, Sixto David Fernandez. Authorities say hit men confused Ortiz with Fernandez during the June 9 shooting at a bar in the capital of Santo Domingo. The two men are friends and were sharing a table.
Carlos Rubio, Gomez’s attorney, did not immediately return a message for comment. However, he posted a seven-minute video on YouTube on Friday in which his client talks about the case.
“I would never do something like this,” Gomez said, adding that he did not try to kill his cousin, “and least of all David, `Big Papi.“’
Gomez, who was wearing a gray T-shirt and a khaki cap, said he made the video because he fears for his life and wanted to reject the accusations as he called on police to investigate the case more deeply.
“I want to clarify that I have nothing to do with any attempt on the life against Sixto David Fernandez,” he said. “We’re family.”
Fernandez did not return a message for comment.
Authorities said at a recent news conference that Gomez wanted Fernandez killed because he believed his cousin turned him into Dominican drug investigators in 2011. They said Gomez then spent time in prison in the Dominican Republic with one of at least 11 suspects arrested in the shooting.
Gomez later resurfaced in the U.S. as one of dozens of suspects sought by federal authorities following a March 2019 drug trafficking sting in Houston.
On Friday, authorities also announced the arrest of another suspect, Alberto Rodriguez Mota, who is accused of paying the hit men some $8,000. Police said he was captured off the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic en route to Puerto Rico.
GOLF Lashley stays on top in Classic
Nate Lashley shot a 5-under 67 to top the Rocket Mortgage Classic leaderboard for the second straight day.
Lashley had a 14-under 130 total at Detroit Golf Club.
Cameron Champ was a stroke back after a 65. He played the front nine in 8-under 28, matching the lowest nine-hole score on the PGA Tour this season. He cooled off on the steamy day with a 1-over 37 on the back nine.
Dustin Johnson, the world’s second-ranked player, and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland finished at 2 under to miss the cut.
In other news:
• For the second straight day, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, friends and competitors since their junior years in Madison, Wisc., took apart the rain-softened Warren Golf Course, each carding bogey-free rounds of 6under 64 in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open at South Bend, Ind.
Stricker broke the tournament 36-hole record at 14-under 126, a day after shooting an event-record 62 for a share of the firstround lead with defending champion David Toms. Kelly, a playoff winner over Stricker and Retief Goosen last week in the Madison event that Stricker hosts, was two strokes back. Toms was third at 11 under after a 67.
Tom Watson matched his age with 69 on Thursday, then beat it Friday with a 68.
Gary Nicklaus ,asonof 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, birdied his final hole for a 71. That left him at 1-under 139, safely under the expected cut line of 142.
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa took a four-shot lead over Sergio Garcia and three other golfers at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters at Sotogrande, Spain.
Bezuidenhout carded a 3-under 68 to reach 8 under for the tournament after two rounds
Tournament host Garcia shot a 1-over 72 to stay at 4 under, along with Bradley Dredge of Wales and fellow Spaniards Adri Arnaus and Alvaro Quiros.
First-round leader Victor Perez fell five shots off the lead after a 74 in a round that included a triple bogey on the par 4 13th hole.
BASEBALL Skeeters drop eighth in a row
Richie Shaffer hit a pair of home runs and Stephen Cardullo drove in three runs on four hits as High Point routed host Sugar Land 13-3 in an Atlantic League game at Constellation Field.
Shaffer has four homers in his last two games. It was the Skeeters’ eighth straight loss. Sugar Land’s Denis Phipps hit his 12th home run of the season.
COLLEGES Ogwumike wins C-USA award
Rice junior Erica Ogwumike has been named the 2018-2019 Michael L. Slive Conference USA Female Athlete of the Year.
Ogwumike helped lead the Owls to their first C-USA regular season and conference tournament titles. The Cypress native averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and was the only C-USA player to rank in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding, and steals.