Man arrested in vandalization, burning of Jackie Robinson statue
- Jackie Robinson statue was cut above the feet, stolen and burned
- Ricky Alderete was arrested, charged in connection with vandalism, theft
- Damages to the statue are estimated to be around $75,000
Jackie Robinson statue in Wichita, Kansas, before and after vandalization. (Credit: Wichita Police Department via Facebook)
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(NewsNation) — A man was arrested Tuesday in connection to the Jan. 25 vandalization and theft of a prized Jackie Robinson statue from a public park in Kansas, according to the Wichita Police Department.
Ricky Alderete, 45, was arrested and charged with Felony Theft – Value over $25,000, Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property, Identity Theft and Making False Information.
The department said detectives conducted more than 100 interviews and scoured the vicinity for video evidence of the theft.
Wichita Police released surveillance video of the theft. A truck is seen driving around the area before two people approach the statue. They seem to remove the statue from its base and push it to the ground.
One person is then seen running off shortly before the truck returns. After the truck appears to back up over the curb and toward where the statue lays, a person seems to exit the vehicle and help the other load the statue into the bed of the truck.
Once the statue is loaded, the two people get into the truck, which then drives off. You can watch a sped-up version of the video released by Wichita Police below.
On Jan. 28, the suspect’s vehicle used in the theft was discovered outside of an apartment complex in Wichita, police said. Two days later, burned parts of the statue were discovered in a trash can at the park after a fire call.
In response to the evidence, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett formally charged Alderete, leading to his arrest.
The life-size statue of Jackie Robinson was brought to the park in 2021 by the League 42 Foundation, a nonprofit that provides urban children the opportunity to play youth baseball at a low cost.
Damages to the statue are estimated to be around $75,000, according to a Facebook post from the City of Wichita.
So far, the investigation hasn’t revealed any evidence indicating the vandalism was a hate-motivated crime. Instead, investigators believe the theft was influenced by the financial gain of scrapping common metal.
NewsNation affiliate KSNW contributed to this report.
