On December 11 , 1973 – Cesar Cedeno is involved in the shooting death of 19-year-old Altagracia de la Cruz in Santo Domingo, DR. He would be acquitted of voluntary manslaughter but pled guilty to a lesser charge, fined and released.

A Dominican judge ordered an official interrogation of jailed Houston Astros star Cesar Cedeno today on charges of manslaughter in the shooting of a teenage girl. Indications were that Cedeno might be freed today once he appears in court on the formal charge. Police had said the shooting apparently was an accident. Examining Magistrate Socrates Diaz Curiel announced plans to question the 22-year-old centerfielder about Tuesday’s predawn shooting of Altagracia de la Cruz, 19, at a Santo Domingo motel. A police report Issued after Informal questioning of the baseball star said, “It has not been possible to fix any blame on Cesar Cedeno.” The police said, however, the case was submitted to the courts to get a full hearing. Cedeno, one of the best young players in baseball, was arrested Tuesday morning and, charged with “voluntary manslaughter.” Legal experts in San Juan said it was similar to the charge of second-degree murder in the United States. Police said Cedeno, a native of the Dominican Republic, spent the night at the Ensanche la Fe Prison, two blocks from Quisqueya Stadium, the scene of his early exploits as a baseball player. The examining magistrate said he would also question an unidentified witness to the shooting today before winding up the official interrogation, the first step in Dominican judicial proceedings. Legal experts said the magistrate would then hand the case over to a police court judge with authority to release Cedeno on the ball. An employee at the Keko Motel told police Cedeno, and Miss De la Cruz went Into a bungalow early ‘Tuesday and asked for two bottles of beer. He reported hearing a shot about 10 minutes later. He said Cedeno called the motel office to report the shooting and then left in a sports car. The baseball star returned with his father later and handed himself over to police. A police colonel said Cedeno told authorities the girl had picked up his .38 caliber pistol to admire it and the weapon went off when Cedeno tried to get it away from her. John W. Mullen, the Astros’ assistant general manager, met with Cedeno at a Santo Domingo police station and quoted the star as saying the gun went off accidentally. “The word is that this was an accident—that’s what Cedeno said,” Mullen reported. “He had a gun. He has a permit for it. She asked to see it. He said no. And she tried to wrestle it away from him, and it went off.”