The Kansas man who stole a Jackie Robinson statue from a park has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
A judge sentenced Ricky Alderete Friday. Most of that jail time is related to another burglary that happened days after the statue theft.
Alderete was involved in a burglary on Feb. 1 he says was fueled by a fentanyl addiction, and 13½ years of the sentence is related to that burglary.
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“I let fentanyl take over me and made a lot of poor decisions. I am not going to deny that. I never meant to hurt anybody,” he said in court Friday. “I am embarrassed, I’m ashamed. Whatever you do today, I accept. I am ready for that. I believe I am where I am supposed to be right now because, at the rate I am going, I might have been dead.”
In May, Alderete pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, aggravated criminal damage to property, interference with law enforcement, criminal damage to property, theft, making a false writing and identity theft in the statue heist.
The statue was snatched from McAdams Park in January and was later “dismantled and burned,” according to authorities.
The Wichita Fire Department was called to a trash can fire at Garvey Park around 8:30 a.m. Jan. 30, where firefighters discovered remnants of the stolen statue.
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The statue was cut from its base, leaving only bronze replicas of the legendary baseball player’s cleats behind. Robinson broke the Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The franchise moved in 1957 to California, where it continues as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After the original statue was stolen, donations to replace it rolled in, including $100,000 from Major League Baseball. The new statue will be unveiled Monday, with Joe Torre and CC Sabathia expected to be in attendance.
The bronze cleats that were left behind when the original statue was stolen are now on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
In the majors, Robinson hit .313, won an MVP in 1949 and was named an All-Star six times. He also was a Negro League All-Star, giving him seven all-star nods in professional baseball.
Robinson died in 1972 at the age of 53, and it is widely thought that the stress he endured throughout his playing days contributed to an early death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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