Scumbag Who Tore Down Jackie Robinson Statue Reportedly Caught
Last month, the trashing of a Jackie Robinson statue at a Wichita public park sparked an investigation into the scumbag(s) responsible for the vandalism.
Weeks after the incident, the first arrest was made. According to the Washington Post, the Wichita Police Department identified Ricky Alderete, 45, as a suspect behind the statue's demise.
Alderete was arrested Tuesday and faces four criminal counts including felony theft, aggravated criminal damage to property, identity theft and making false information.
(Lutz, Jeffrey | KWCH
circa 1945: A portrait of the Brooklyn Dodgers' infielder Jackie Robinson in uniform. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The statue's disappearance on Jan. 25 shocked the Kansas community. Jackie Robinson, famously remembered for breaking MLB's color barrier, had his statue cut at the ankles, leaving only a stump of the $75,000 sculpture. Days later, pieces of the statue were discovered in a fiery dumpster, several miles away from the statue's original location at McAdams Park.
READ: Missing Jackie Robinson Statue Found 'Beyond Repair' In Fiery Dump, Police Still Searching For Vandals
Wichita police conducted 100 interviews, in search of the vandal(s).
Footage obtained by authorities tallied three possible suspects behind the coordination of the statue's theft.
A statement from the police department noted that Alderete's motivation for cutting the statue had nothing to do with race, a suspicion first raised by several figures around the situation. Alderete participated in cutting down the statue to sell pieces for scrap metal, Wichita PD relayed.
League 42, a non-profit organization that first put up the statue, started a GoFundMe to fund a replacement using the original mold. The Post noted that MLB reached out to entirely pay for a new statue, separate from the GoFundMe's $200,000, and counting, raised in donations.
"When you try to take something from this community, it won’t tolerate it," Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan commented.
Wichita Police Dept. Lt. Aaron Moses spoke about the existing footage of the theft.
"We know from the video that there were at least three individuals there when the statute was taken and we know it was taken somewhere where other individuals were present.
"I'm not going to give a firm number on how many people we're looking for. I'll tell you, we will continue the investigation until we're confident that everyone has been identified and held accountable for their actions."