Alfredo Simon, Baltimore Orioles Reliever, is acquitted in man's death

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Baltimore Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon has been acquitted of an involuntary manslaughter charge.

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Simon
Defense attorney Dinora Dilone said Simon was acquitted Tuesday in the New Year's Eve shooting death of 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte.
Dilone says experts testified that the fatal bullet did not come from Simon's gun and that no witnesses saw the pitcher fire his weapon.
The victim's family had previously dropped a lawsuit against Simon, but the public prosecutor still pursued the case. It was not clear whether the prosecutor planned to appeal.
Simon faced up to two years in prison if convicted.

here is our old thread on this topic; http://news.insearchofchicas.org/for...=Alfredo+Simon

Anyone surprised?

We went from a bunch of eye witnesses testifying that they watched him shoot the kid, to a "no one saw him fire his weapon"

Money talks here. Big time.

Lot's of indignation down here....


El Caribe newspaper reported:

"The acquittal is another scandal for the Dominican Republic. The millionaire Major Leagues baseball player Alfredo Simon was accustomed to firing shots into the air in the Luperon Park (as if he was a Wild West cowboy). He was accused of the death of Michel Castillo Almonte with all the evidence pointing to him as the person responsible for the murder and for causing bullet wounds to 17-year old Starlin Castillo. After Castillo's death, Simon fled and handed himself in to the Police later, but the prosecutors said that he had changed the barrel of the gun he was carrying. Thanks to his money, he was able to reach an agreement with the family of the victims in return for them withdrawing their complaints. Now he was discharged. You can be the jury."