Wander Franco arrested in Dominican Republic after gun-related incident

Marc Topkin and Juan Carlos Chavez, Tampa Bay Times on Nov 11, 2024

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — Rays shortstop Wander Franco, already facing a December trial on charges stemming from a relationship with a minor, was arrested Monday in the Dominican Republic following a gun-related incident.

Franco was involved in an altercation Sunday in San Juan de la Maguana in which guns were drawn in the parking lot of an apartment complex. He was being held for questioning, along with another man and a woman, in what police said started as “a heated dispute of a passionate nature,” according to Dominican newspaper Listin Diario.

Franco’s lawyer in the Dominican Republic told the Tampa Bay Times he hopes his client will be cleared quickly in the investigation.

“That’s how it is,” Teodosio Jáquez Encarnación said, “and that’s how it will be.”

Neither the Rays nor Major League Baseball had any comment Monday on the latest development.

Videos posted to social media of the alleged incident showed a chaotic scene involving several people; police said they received an emergency call about the incident and arrived amid verbal and physical confrontations.

Juan Recio, a Dominican lawyer and the ESPN writer who first reported the story, told the Times no charges have yet been filed against Franco as police under Dominican law have 48 hours after an arrest to do so.

“They are just holding him to determine if the seized weapon belongs to him and if it is illegal,” Recio said.

It was unclear Monday whether Franco had a license to carry a gun or if the gun at the scene was registered.

Hector Gomez, another prominent Dominican journalist, called the situation “unfortunate” for Franco, who made the 2023 American League All-Star team and was considered one of game’s top rising young players.

“This is a situation that, unfortunately, adds to several regrettable incidents involving Wander Franco,” Gomez said. “There aren’t many details, but it is said that Wander was with a woman who is in a relationship with another man, although these are just rumors. What is confirmed, however, is his detention. It is very unfortunate, because Wander has other pending legal issues with the Dominican justice system.”

Franco, 23, is scheduled for a Dec. 12 trial on charges of human trafficking, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor related to a relationship with a then-14-year-old girl that started in December 2022 (when Franco was 21). He could face up to 20 years in prison.

Franco has not played for the Rays since allegations of the relationship first surfaced in August 2023. Since mid-July of this year, he has been on MLB’s restricted list and was not paid the remainder of his $2 million salary. He is due to make $8 million in 2025, as part of the $172 million remaining on the 11-year, $182 million contract he signed after his 2021 debut season.

Franco also is under investigation by MLB under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, and could face league discipline pending resolution of the legal issues.

San Juan de la Maguana, the scene of the incident, is about a two-hour drive west from Franco’s home in Bani, near the Santo Domingo capital. He is free to travel within the country while awaiting trial.