SAN CRISTOBAL, Dominican Republic (AP) – Chicago White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe was questioned and released Tuesday but remains a suspect in the shooting of two men in the Dominican Republic.
Uribe spent more than two hours at the San Cristobal courthouse being questioned by District Attorney Robert Lugo before he was released around 12:15 p.m. with his brother, Elpidio, and a friend, Jose Manuel Encarnacion, who were arrested Sunday, Lugo said.
As Uribe was leaving, he pushed away a Univision camera and shoved an ESPN cameraman in the face. He did not speak to reporters.
The men are suspected of shooting and wounding a Dominican farmer and a captain in the Italian Navy with a pistol and a shotgun when the pair walked too close to Uribe’s jeep around midnight Friday, police said.
An arrest warrant issued Monday for Uribe was voided, but he had to turn over his gun to police and appear back at the courthouse later this week, Lugo said. Uribe was scheduled to report to his Dominican winter league team, the Escogido Lions, on Tuesday.
Uribe and his lawyers told prosecutors he was not in Juan Baron, a coastal city about 40 miles southwest of Santo Domingo, when the shooting took place, Lugo said.
But Antonio Gonzalez Perez, who was at the courthouse, said he clearly saw Uribe and got into an argument with him before seeing the player pull out a gun and fire.
“Uribe was the one who shot me. He was very angry without anyone having done anything,” said Gonzalez, a 44-year-old San Cristobal farmer who suffered an elbow injury and filed a civil suit against the ballplayer.
The navy captain, Dondolin Alessandro, was treated for injuries to his stomach and hands. The Italian embassy in Santo Domingo did not return several calls for comment and officials there did not respond to an e-mail sent Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, White Sox general manager Ken Williams endorsed the 27-year-old Uribe as his shortstop for next season despite a disappointing 2006 in which he hit .235 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs.
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