[See the updates below. Starlin Castro’s agent is firm that Castro was never arrested, is not directly involved, and voluntarily came to see police to clear his name. Original text of post follows, with updates.]
The details are spotty at this point – I’ve reached out to the Cubs for comment – but Enrique Rojas is reporting that Starlin Castro has been arrested, or at least brought in for questioning (that’s what the latter tweets appear to indicate):
#Cubs SS Starlin Castro arrested Saturday by authorities for questioning by a shooting that left 6 injured by bullets, police said.
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) December 27, 2014
Informa policía dominicana que Starlin Castro fue apresado para ser interrogado por balacera en discoteca esta madrugada #Cubs
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) December 27, 2014
El vocero de la policía dominicana @Jacobommoquete informó que personas muy cercanas a Castro están involucradas en balacera.
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) December 27, 2014
There is also a local report about the incident that you can read here. I do not speak fluent Spanish, and I’m reluctant to lean too heavily on Google Translate. But it appears that this is a new, separate incident from the one earlier this month (from which Castro was cleared), and it appears that Castro may not have been directly involved. Instead, the report appears to indicate that persons associated with Castro were involved. Also, the report states that seven people, including Castro, were brought in for questioning.
Castro posted this message on Instagram about an hour ago, which may have some relevance.
I have to urge you to sit tight before you come to any conclusions. We have very little information at this time, and it’s too easy for inaccuracies to spread rapidly in this day and age, especially when there is a language difference involved. I’m going to wait for comment from the Cubs, from Castro, and/or from Castro’s representatives.
UPDATE: Rojas’s full report is now available, in Spanish. Again, leaning heavily on Google Translate, it looks like there was a shooting a night club involving persons associated with Castro, with as many as six injuries and multiple people brought in for questioning. Who did what is currently under investigation.
UPDATE 2: And Rojas has restated his original tweet to indicate the distinction between “arrested” and “detained for questioning”:
Ok, again. #Cubs Starlin Castro was detained by the authorities for questioning by a shooting that left 6 people injured by bullets in DR
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) December 27, 2014
UPDATE 3: Starlin Castro’s Instagram account – or at least the account I’ve always understood to be Castro’s account – just posted an update with a picture of Castro holding his son, purporting to be at home now.
UPDATE 4: Jon Morosi has spoken with Castro’s agent, who indicates that the reports were a little off:
Starlin Castro's agent, Paul Kinzer, said his client "had nothing to do" with the shooting and was never detained by authorities.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 27, 2014
Kinzer on Castro: "Voluntarily, he went in and talked with them [the local authorities]. It wasn’t like he was taken in for questioning."
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 27, 2014
Kinzer said Starlin Castro is home in Monte Cristi now. "According to him, the police have video showing he wasn't involved," he said.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 27, 2014
Kinzer said repeatedly that his client was never arrested. "He wasn't 'released,' because he was never 'held,'" Kinzer said.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 27, 2014
Assuming that’s all true, and this is a case where associates of Castro’s were involved in an altercation (if they were involved at all), then it’s a relief, relatively speaking. But, obviously, it’s not a great situation. It’s fair to be concerned about Castro’s safety, among other things.
UPDATE 5: More from Kinzer in this Tribune piece. It sounds like Castro wasn’t directly involved, and isn’t suspected of anything. It is, however, an unfortunate (and dangerous) situation with which to be connected, and I’m sure everyone – from Castro to the Cubs – would like to see him aggressively steering clear of things like this in the future.
UPDATE 6: This all, by the way, is why I try to reserve any kind of editorializing – or even analysis – in situations like this until the facts are fully known and accepted. Maybe that makes for a less interesting read, and maybe it makes me slower than I would otherwise be. But I think it’s the most fair way to be, not only to the people involved in the story, but also to the readers.
UPDATE 7: Likely the final update for the day. I just spoke with someone with knowledge of this situation, and he confirmed that Castro is was not arrested or detained and is not a suspect. The source also said any reports about a police “raid” at Castro’s house that you may have seen floating out there (some of which may have originated with Dominican officials on Twitter) are inaccurate.