WICHITA, Kan. — The man who stole a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was severed at the ankles and was found days later smoldering in a trash can in a Kansas city park will spend about 15 years in prison, though most of that time is related to a burglary that occurred a few days after The statue robbery in January.
A judge sentenced Ricky Alderete on Friday on three separate counts that he said in court stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.
The League 42 youth baseball league plans to unveil a replacement statue by Robinson made from the original mold Monday in a park in Wichita, Kansas. The city was shocked when the statue was cut from its base in January, leaving only the statue’s feet. The league, which primarily serves low-income youth, is named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major league color barrier in 1947.
Firefighters found burned remains of the statue for five days later while responding to a trash fire at another park approximately 7 miles away.
Alderete pleaded guilty to the theft. He was sentenced to 18 months and ordered to pay $41,500 in restitution for stealing the statue. He received the most time for an aggravated burglary that happened on Feb. 1 that carried a sentence of 13.5 years in prison.
“I let fentanyl take over me and made a lot of bad decisions. I’m not going to deny that. I never meant to hurt anybody,” he said in court Friday. “I’m ashamed, I’m ashamed. Whatever you do today, I accept. I’m ready for it. I think I’m where I’m supposed to be right now because at the rate I’m going, I could be dead.”
After the original statue was stolen, donations rolled in to replace it, including $100,000 from Major League Baseball. Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre and Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia are expected to attend Monday’s unveiling.
The bronze blocks left behind when the original statue was stolen are now on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of black American ballplayers. He is considered not only a sports legend but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.