Villalona update
In a far more serious Giants legal matter, prospect Angel Villalona has posted bail in the Dominican Republic, where he had been held on murder charges, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Villalona, 19, still faces a charge that he shot a man to death during a bar fight in La Romana, Dominican Republic in September. Villalona posted bail of 500,000 pesos (a little less than $14,000 U.S.). Villalona’s lawyer said the the no-bail hold on Villalona had been relaxed because prosecutors could not pin a motive in the shooting.
A source says Villalona’s family paid the victim’s family 5 million pesos ($138,306 U.S.). Villalona’s lawyer denied the report. However, the prosecutor did say the victim’s family did sign a waiver stating it will not file a civil suit against Villalona.
Villalona flew home to visit his mother. On Sept. 18, Villalona visited a popular disco when the victim, 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete, got into an argument with a friend of Villalona. A bottle-throwing fight ensued. As Velete tried to flee through a back door, prosecutors say Villalona shot him in the back.
But Villalona’s friends and family say Villalona wasn’t even in the bar at the time the shooting took place. They say another man did the shooting, and has since fled town.
Three years ago, Villalona signed a $2.1 million signing bonus, at the time the largest given by the Giants to an amateur free agent. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound first baseman hit 9 home runs with 42 RBI and batted .267 in 74 games for Class A San Jose. He missed about a month of the season with a strained quad.
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