Let me say right off that pitcher Luis Martinez was
exonerated of all charges...but interesting nonetheless...These are sports wire reports under Mr. Martinez's player record at KFFL.
SOURCE:
http://www.kffl.com/player/6393/MLB2/8/2004: Canadian Press reports an arrest warrant was issued on Saturday, Feb. 7, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for Milwaukee Brewers P Luis Martinez, who allegedly shot a man three times according to police. Rafael Encarnacion Quezada was shot twice in the chest and once in his left leg in a hotel parking lot, and was hospitalized in critical condition. A police spokesman said he didn't have details on a motive or why the police suspected Martinez. However, a team official from Licey, who Martinez had played for in the Caribbean Series and the Dominican Winter League, said he had spoken with Martinez after the incident. "Martinez got in touch with us by phone this afternoon and gave his version of what happened," said Licey general manager Fernando Ravelo. "He's not running (from authorities), he's just scared."
2/10/2004: The Associated Press reports Milwaukee Brewers SP Luis Martinez surrendered to police Tuesday, Feb. 10, to face accusations he shot a man in a dispute over parking spots. Martinez has not been charged in the shooting, but police had issued an arrest warrant for Martinez. The pitcher told police he argued with Rafael Encarnacion Quezada in the parking lot at the Hotel Plaza Colonial while they were both trying to park, police spokeswoman Barbara Hererra said. Martinez said Encarnacion threatened him and was carrying a gun, but Hererra said the pitcher wouldn't confirm whether he was also armed
2/18/2004: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said he does not expect P Luis Martinez to be allowed to report to spring training. Martinez was arrested earlier in the month in a shooting in the Dominican Republic and is still being questioned by authorities. "I don't anticipate him being (in Arizona) for spring training," Melvin said. "If he does get the go-ahead or when he gets the go-ahead, we'll sit down as an organization and discuss the situation."
2/23/2004: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss reports the Milwaukee Brewers waived SP Luis Martinez. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin conceded that the shooting incident in a Santo Domingo parking lot factored in the club's decision to place him on waivers. "We obviously have to evaluate the player's ability, but the recent incident came into play a little bit,'' said Melvin. ``We just thought a change of scenery was in his best interest. We were going to keep him in the system; we weren't going to release him. There was a combination of things that factored into the decision. You always have in the back of your mind how difficult it would be for a player to come back after going through something like this
2/23/2004: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss reports St. Louis Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty spoke on the acquisition of SP Luis Martinez and was aware of the legal troubles he was mired in. "Our information is that (Martinez) was exonerated of the charges,'' Jocketty said. "We're not sure whether he's a starter or a reliever. He's done both. I think that right now we probably look at him as a starter. He's a guy with a lot of potential.''
And then this article on ESPN explains the shooting was apparently in self-defense...LINK:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1743308SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Luis Martinez was released from police custody Tuesday after being cleared in a shooting that left a man hospitalized.
The left-hander, claimed by St. Louis on Monday off waivers from Milwaukee, planned to leave the Dominican Republic by Wednesday for spring training in Jupiter, Fla.
"I'm very happy that everything has been cleared up," Martinez said. "Now I'll try to continue with my personal life and baseball career."
Prosecutors decided not to file charges after police concluded Martinez had shot the man twice in self-defense.
"I was only defending my life," Martinez said. "I feel terribly bad that someone was injured."
Martinez, 24, was detained Feb. 10, three days after shooting government tax worker Rafael Encarnacion Quezada during a traffic dispute in a hotel parking lot. Encarnacion, who had been carrying a gun, was in stable condition Tuesday at a hospital in the capital.
Martinez was the Brewers' minor league pitcher of the year last season after going a combined 12-5 with a 2.13 ERA for Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Indianapolis. He made his major league debut in September and went 0-3 with a 9.92 ERA in four starts for the Brewers.
