Ricky Alderete, who was arrested earlier this year for stealing a Jackie Robinson statue in Wichita, Kan., has pled guilty to multiple charges in connection with the crime. The 45-year-old could face over 19 years in prison when he's sentenced on July 1, according to an ESPN report.
Alderete is slated to be sentenced for charges of theft, aggravated burglary, aggravated criminal damage to property, interference with law enforcement, criminal damage to property, making a false writing and identity theft.
The prosecutor's office also stated that Alderete will be required to pay $41,500 to League 42, the youth baseball organization that owned the statue.
Last month, the remaining pieces of the vandalized Robinson statue were donated to the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum accepted the bronze cleats that were part of a Robinson statue that once stood at McAdams Park in Wichita.
The cleats are being added to a Robinson-themed exhibit at the museum.
In February, a probable cause affidavit showed the investigation that led Wichita police to arrest Alderete after the statue was stolen. KWCH reported that surveillance video showed a truck pulling down the statue, and thieves loaded it into the bed of that very truck.
Just days after the statue was found destroyed, over $140,000 in donations poured in to aid in rebuilding the iconic statue. An online fundraiser was started with a goal $75,000 to help rebuild the statue that honors Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947.
