Ex-Cubs prospect is ‘wanted by Dominican police for the shooting death of a man over $2,750 debt’
Ex-Cubs prospect, 18, ‘wanted by Dominican police for shooting dead 26-year-old man with $2,750 debt’: Outfielder received $500,000 signing bonus in 2022, but now released by Chicago
- Josefrailin Alcantara is accused of killing a 26-year-old man over a $2,750 debt
- A Cubs spokesperson told DailyMail.com that he had been released before the incident
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A former prospect of the Chicago Cubs is reportedly wanted in connection with a deadly shooting in his native Dominican Republic.
Josefrailin Alcantara, an 18-year-old outfielder, is accused of shooting and killing 26-year-old Darwin Diaz Valero over a $2,750 debt, according to the leading Dominican newspaper Journal Libre.
Police in the capital Santiago are reportedly looking for Alcantara, who allegedly shot Diaz twice in the back of a Hyundai Sonata last Friday, killing the man.
The car is in police custody and officers reportedly found bloodstains and a 9-millimeter projectile inside the vehicle.
Alcantara happens to be pictured in front of a similar car model on his Facebook profile picture.
Alcantara seen in front of a gray Hyundai, possibly the car where the shooting took place
Alcantara’s cousin Diego Aníbal Rodríguez Martínez was reportedly in the car when the shooting took place and is now in police custody.
However, Alcantara remains on the run after fleeing a local medical center, where he was treated after the altercation, according to Diario Libre.
Cubs spokesman Julian Green issued a statement to DailyMail.com in the wake of the report, saying, “We were made aware of a death investigation involving one of our recently released Minor League players. We cannot comment further until we have additional details.”
Later, Green clarified that Alcantara was suspended for a team rule violation at the time of the shooting and has since been released.
‘[He] was subsequently released upon notification of the criminal investigation by authorities in the Dominican Republic,” Green told DailyMail.com.
Alcantara was awarded a $500,000 signing bonus in January 2022, but has since been cut
The Dominican National Police did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for more information.
Alcantara was awarded a $500,000 signing bonus in January 2022, the fourth-largest amount awarded by the team to an international prospect last year.
He wrestled in 40 games in the Dominican Summer League last year, hitting two home runs and batting only .136.
Alcantara is not the first Cubs to have legal trouble in the Dominican Republic. In 2015, shortstop Luis Henríquez Acosta was arrested for belonging to a gang that killed former Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Victoriano Santos Hilario and his son Víctor Manuel Santos Gutiérrez, according to Diario Libre.