WICHITA, Kan. — The man who cut a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson at the ankles removing the monument from the base has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. But most of the sentence wasn’t for taking the statue.
Ricky Alderete was sentenced to 18 months behind bars for taking the statue but another 13 and a half years for an unrelated burglary, CNN reported.
He had faced more than 19 years, ESPN reported.
Alderete said he committed the crimes because he was addicted to fentanyl.
The statue of Robinson had stood outside the League 42 youth baseball fields in Wichita, Kansas. The league, named 42 in honor of Robinson and the uniform number he wore with the Brooklyn Dodgers when he broke the color barrier in 1947, serves mostly low-income youth.
The statue was eventually found about a week later burned in a trash can at a park 7 miles away from the baseball fields.
Alderete pleaded guilty in May to taking the statue and with the 18-month sentence, also was ordered to pay $41,500 restitution to the league, ESPN reported.
“I let fentanyl take over me and made a lot of poor decisions. I am not going to deny that. I never meant to hurt anybody,” he said during the sentencing hearing, CNN reported. “I am embarrassed, I’m ashamed. Whatever you do today I accept.”
Police said the theft was not racially motivated, instead, they said Alderete took the statue for “the financial gain of scrapping common metal,” ESPN reported.
Days after Alderete’s sentencing, a replacement statue was scheduled to be unveiled Monday at McAdams Park where League 42 plays. The new statue was paid for with donations, including $100,000 from Major League Baseball.
A GoFundMe had raised almost $200,000 for a replacement before it had been shut down, but the executive director of the league said they got between $500,000 and $600,000 total, ESPN reported.
It was created by Art Castings of Colorado. The foundry used the same mold that was used by artist John Parsons, to make the first statue. Parsons died in 2022.
The remaining part of the original statue, the shoes that had been left behind, are on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
About 600 children participate in League 42, The Associated Press reported.
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