61°
Rolfi Ferreira-Cruz, 25, also is charged in the indictment returned in Newark with carrying a gun while committing a drug crime, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
Ferreira-Cruz has been imprisoned in the Dominican Republic on attempted murder charges since the June 9 attempt on the former Red Sox superstar's life earlier this month.
He's been wanted, as well, for a pair of street robberies in Clifton last year.
Ferreira-Cruz “admitted that he was the person who fired at former baseball player David Ortiz,” the National Police in the Dominican Republic said in a release earlier this month.
“The investigators indicated that the weapon used was a pistol mark HI-POWER” that was recovered after another man hid it, authorities said.
They also said that Cruz – known as “Sandy” – was among a group of seven men offered $7,800 to shoot the baseball great at an entertainment center in Santo Domingo.
No motive was offered. Robbery was discounted.
Carpenito credited special agents of DEA, as well officers of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, with the investigation leading to the indictment, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Gould of his OCDETF/Narcotics Unit in Newark.
Clifton police in January 2018 turned to the public for help finding Cruz and another man suspected in pair of street holdups.
An indictment returned by a state grand jury in Paterson charges him with armed robbery, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property, employing a juvenile in a crime and a variety of weapons charges -- including possession of a BB gun.
An arrest warrant out of Passaic County remains in effect, authorities said.
SEE: Man Accused Of Shooting David Ortiz Was Wanted In Clifton Street Robberies
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cliffside Park-Edgewater and receive free news updates.
