Nearly three weeks after a statue of baseball icon Jackie Robinson was stolen from League 42 in N. Wichita, multiple charges have now been filed against a man who's already been in custody for nearly two weeks.
On January 25, police responded to an incident at League 42, near 17th Street North & the Canal Route, regarding the theft of the statue. Property Crimes investigators scoured the vicinity for video evidence.
Police detectives conducted more than 100 interviews regarding the case. Three days after the theft, officers from the Wichita Police Department Field Community Response Team located the vehicle used in the theft, unoccupied, at an apartment complex.
Five days after the theft, the Wichita Fire Department discovered parts of the statue burning in a trash can at Garvey Park in the south part of Wichita.
On February 12, police investigators presented the case details to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett, who has formally charged 45-year-old Ricky Alderete with:
*Felony Theft – Value over $25,000
*Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property
*Identity Theft
*Making False Information
Alderete has been in custody since February 1, when he was apprehended for a pending arrest warrant.
The investigation has not revealed any evidence indicating this was a hate-motivated or racially-motivated crime; instead, detectives believe this theft was motivated by the financial gain of scrapping common metal.
It appears there were three people who stole the statue, and police believe there were others present wherever the statue was taken after the theft; detectives continue their search for more suspects.