By: Kyle Xu
Recently, a man stole a Jackie Robinson statue next to a baseball field in Wichita, Kansas. He then proceeded to destroy it. On Friday, he was sentenced to 15 years of prison due to theft and other charges.
The 45-year-old man, Ricky Alderete, is the only one of many people involved with the theft, although he is the only one identified, investigators report. The grand theft happened in January. Alderete received 162 months for aggravated burglary and 18 months in prison for aggravated criminal damage to property, according to Jorge M. De Hoyos, Alderete’s assistant public defender.
The aggravated burglary charge came from an incident in February, when Alderete was fleeing police who believed him to be connected to the statue theft. He broke into a home, fell asleep, and the police arrested him.
Video evidence recorded Alderete and another man sawing off the statue and placing it in a truck, which was eventually tracked down to Alderete. He stole the statue from League 42, the youth baseball league the statue was near to.
Alderete already had a criminal record for illegal interactions with drugs, and it wasn’t his first time in prison. He was charged in February with felony theft, criminal damage to property, and giving misleading information related to crimes. Almost two years ago, in October 2022, he stole a cellphone.
Alderete’s history with drugs went deep into the 1990s. He was addicted to opiates, which has gotten him into trouble on more than one count. His liking for drugs was rekindled after being laid off in the midst of COVID. Mr. Alderete’s family abandoned him after he began using vast amounts of heroin.
A month back in July, Mr. Alderete discussed matters with League 42’s founder, Bob Lutz. They had a discussion in which Lutz decided to give Alderete’s children a spot in the league in a gesture of peace