Wichita Police Department
A 45-year-old man has been charged in the theft of a life-size bronze statue of Jackie Robinson from a park in Wichita, Kansas last month, authorities announced Tuesday. Police are seeking several more suspects in the crime, which investigators do not believe to have been motivated by hatred.
“Instead, we believe this theft was motivated by the financial gain of scrapping common metal,” Lt. Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department said at a news conference.
The arrested suspect, Ricky Alderete, was charged on Monday with felony theft, aggravated criminal damage to property, and making false information, according to Moses. He was already in police custody when he was arrested in the Jackie Robinson case, authorities said, held on what online court records reflect were charges of kidnapping and aggravated burglary in connection to a Feb. 1 incident.