"Welcome to Yokohama" - Top 10 funny memes as Rays star Wander Franco gets arrested in Dominican Republic amid ongoing investigation
Wander Franco was recently detained by the police in the Dominican Republic after he presented himself before the authorities who arrested him for failure to attend a previous plea hearing slated for Thursday. The former Tampa Bay Rays player is also charged with two cases of sexual activity with minors.
Rumors floated back in August of last year that Franco had been charged with inappropriate sexual behavior with minors and was asked to present himself before the court. Towards the end of last month, reports came in that the 22-year-old had fled his residencies.
The police visited two of his homes in the city of Bani but failed to find him. The prosecutors had asked him to present himself two days later, on Dec. 28, for a hearing.
Franco appeared before the prosecutors around 11 am on Monday before being prosecuted for three hours and eventually detained. At the justice agency of Puerto Plata province, Franco was received by the head of the unit, Judge Luisa Marmolejos.
This incident has made matters even more complicated for Franco, who was put on administrative leave by the MLB following the accusations. Despite this, fans on X made light work of the issue and flooded the platform with memes on Franco.
Here are the top 10 memes from Franco's arrest:
Wander Franco to be presented before a judge because of his disappearance
The Dominican Public Ministry has 48 hours from the time of the arrest to give the judge evidence and petitions pertaining to Wander Franco. Coercive measures, such as holding him in jail, can be petitioned for. Thus, after 48 hours, they must determine whether to keep him in jail.
The MLB is yet to comment on the issue. Meanwhile, his team, the Tampa Bay Rays, have been silent since stating back in August that they will cooperate in the investigation as much as they can.