Wander Franco has to make monthly court check-ins after latest arrest

TAMPA, Fla. — Rays shortstop Wander Franco will have to check in monthly with Dominican Republic court officials while awaiting a hearing as the result of his latest legal issue, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Franco, 23, was arrested Sunday in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in the parking lot of an apartment building in which guns were drawn. Police described the incident as “a heated dispute of a passionate nature” with another man over a woman.

Prosecutors have accused Franco of illegally carrying and possessing a firearm, which can be punishable by three to five years in jail, plus a fine.

Police said a Glock, its magazine and 15 rounds of ammunition were found in a vehicle in which Franco was traveling. The firearm, which had no documentation, was registered to a man Franco said was an uncle, police said. No court date has been set.

Franco on Wednesday was granted provisional release by judge Viamerca Ruiz. But until his court date, under what the Dominican legal system calls a coercive measure, Franco is required to check in on the 30th of each month with the court in San Juan de la Maguana, a two-hour drive from his home in Bani.

Franco arrived in court Wednesday accompanied by military police, ESPN reported. The 2023 All-Star wore a light gray hoodie that covered his head and most of his face and kept his head bowed. He did not speak to reporters.

According to the Associated Press, one of Franco’s lawyers, Antonio Garcia Lorenzo, said, “The gun has a license ... so there’s nothing illegal about it. We are asking for his release, pure and simple as that. They have already investigated the weapon, and it is not his. It has its owner.”

Franco already was scheduled to stand trial on Dec. 12 to face charges of human trafficking, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor stemming from 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 Major League Baseball’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. He could face league discipline pending resolution of the trial.