Man pleads guilty to stealing Jackie Robinson statue
By Nadine Yousif
A man accused of helping steal a statue of baseball player Jackie Robinson from a park in Kansas has pleaded guilty.
Ricky Alderete, a 45-year-old man from Wichita, told court that he helped swipe the statue from the park and loaded it in a pickup truck.
The bronze statue was cut off at the ankles before it was hauled away by the burglars in January.
Its theft was met with outcry from community members, who have since raised money to replace it.
Mr Alderete is facing multiple charges including aggravated burglary, aggravated damage to property and theft, according to prosecutors.
He pleaded guilty to the charges on Thursday in the Sedgwick County District Court in Wichita, Kansas.
District Judge Tyler Roush told Mr Alderete that he faces a maximum prison sentence of over 19 years.
He also faces a fine of $41,500 (£33,126) that would be paid to League 42, a youth baseball league that plays in McAdams Park, where the statue was stolen from. The league was named after Robinson’s jersey number.
