A Wichita man was sentenced to more than four years in prison and owes over $320 thousand in restitution to the City of Wichita.
This comes after he stole and damaged a historic cannon from Central Riverside Park back in April.
Gordon L. Pierce III told Wichita Police he committed the crime to pay off a drug debt after he was robbed of $20,000 worth of methamphetamine.
An affidavit said Pierce used his vehicle to get the cannon off its granite pedestal, then dragged it behind his vehicle to a friend’s house. He spent several hours cutting it up.
The cannon was cast in Spain in 1794 and was captured in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The United States presented it to Kansas Governor W.E. Stanley and then to the city of Wichita in 1900.