DETROIT (WWJ) -- A stolen statue has been reinstalled in Detroit.
The statue of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, a former prisoner of war, was stolen and damaged just months after its original dedication at Rouge Park in June of 2024.
The 600-pound statue was quickly recovered by Detroit Police, who took the suspect into custody.
On Friday, the city reinstalled and held a rededication for the statue in Rouge Park, where Lt. Col. Jefferson once flew model airplanes.
Jefferson was a Tuskegee Airmen pilot, World War II POW and — later in life — a Detroit Public Schools teacher.
Officials said the thief intended to sell the statue — was sawed off at the ankles — for its bronze. He was charged with multiple felonies, did plead guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.
The original statue and subsequent restoration made possible by the Ford Foundation.