A 45-year-old man in Kansas has pled guilty to multiple charges, including theft, after stealing and destroying a statue of Jackie Robinson. He now faces the possibility of serving over 19 years in prison.
On January 25, the large Jackie statue was stolen from a youth baseball park in Wichita, KS. However, it was later discovered burned and destroyed at a nearby park.
Several individuals were caught on surveillance footage, stealing the statue. However, the authorities have apprehended and pressed charges against only one person, Ricky Alderete.
Now, Alderete may face a sentence of almost twenty years as he confessed to his involvement in the crime during his court appearance this week.
Alderete has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including aggravated burglary, aggravated criminal damage to property, interference with law enforcement, criminal damage to property, theft, making a false writing, and identity theft, according to prosecutors.
Authorities have stated that they do not believe the incident to be racially motivated.
Alderete may face a sentence of up to 19 years and 1 month in prison. In addition, he could be required to pay League 42, the organization where the statue was taken, a sum of over $41k.
According to the Associated Press, the league bought the statue for approximately $50k and installed it in 2021.
After the statue got stolen and destroyed, a GoFundMe campaign was initiated, which managed to raise an astounding amount of over $194k!
Alderete’s destiny will be determined in a Kansas courtroom on July 1st.
