SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Police in the Dominican Republic said on Saturday they have arrested three suspects in the killing of former New York Yankees pitcher Pascual Perez during a robbery at his home last week, while two others remained at large.

General Maximo Aybar, the chief of the police force’s criminal investigations division, said one of the three suspects had confessed to killing Perez, who was found beaten to death last Thursday at his home near Santo Domingo.

Aybar said the three suspects had confessed to conspiring to rob Perez of his Major League Baseball pension, which he received at the end of each month. He said two other suspects were being sought, and that no formal charges had been filed.

During his career, Perez was an All-Star with the Atlanta Braves in 1983 and also pitched for the Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.

While pitching for the Expos on August 19, 1982, Perez famously missed a start while circling Interstate 285 in search of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Two of his brothers, Melido and Carlos, also pitched in the big leagues, as did a cousin, Yorkis.

(Writing by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)