The man who stole a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas will spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that sentence is related to a burglary that happened a few days later.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The man who stole a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas is going to spend about 15 years in prison, although most of that time is related to a burglary that happened a few days after the January statue heist.

A judge sentenced Ricky Alderete Friday on three different cases that he said in court stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.

The League 42 youth baseball league plans to unveil a replacement statue of Robinson crafted from the original mold Monday at a park in Wichita, Kansas. The city was shocked when the statue was cut from its base in January, leaving only the statue’s feet behind. The league that primarily serves low-income youth is named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major leagues’ color barrier in 1947.

Firefighters found burned remnants of the statue five days later while responding to a trash can fire at another park about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) away.

Alderete pleaded guilty to the theft. He was sentenced to 18 months and ordered to pay $41,500 restitution for stealing the statue. He got the most time for an aggravated burglary that happened Feb. 1 that carried a sentence of 13.5 years in prison.

  • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
    20·
    5 months ago

    But the asshat that travels across state lines to deface the statute of baphomet gets nothing? Not saying this dude should get nothing, but the other dude, that I think was a member of his state’s Congress should face punishment.

    ETA: he only ran for office, but it appears he was never elected.

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
      12·
      5 months ago

      Wait, that fucker got off? His defacing of a statue was eligible to be charged as a hate crime, which it absolutely was. This dude just had an addiction to feed. God fucking damn these christofascists.

      • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
        9·
        5 months ago

        https://www.kcci.com/article/michael-cassidy-who-destroyed-statue-of-pagan-idol-iowa-capitol/60928468

        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Mississippi man who damaged a statue of a pagan idol at Iowa’s state Capitol pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge in return for prosecutors dropping a felony hate crime count.

        Michael Cassidy, a former congressional and legislative candidate, was set for trial June 3, but his attorney filed a guilty plea on his behalf to an aggravated misdemeanor count of third-degree criminal mischief, the Des Moines Register reported.

        • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
          5·
          5 months ago

          Fucking probation! Asshole. Prosecutors should have made an example of him. This just tells other christofascists that his behavior is acceptable.

          Btw, I bought a Baphomet statue to sit on my bookshelf looking over me. They’re plentiful online if anyone wants to spice up their decorations.

          Fuck these people.