Kansas man pleads guilty to theft of Jackie Robinson statue - ESPN

Ricky Alderete, 45, arrested after a Jackie Robinson statue went missing from a Wichita, Kansas, youth baseball league in January, pleaded guilty on Thursday to theft and other charges.

Alderete could face more than 19 years behind bars when he's sentenced on July 1, the district attorney's office told ESPN on Friday.

In addition to theft, he will be sentenced for aggravated burglary, aggravated criminal damage to property, interference with law enforcement, criminal damage to property, making a false writing and identity theft. The crimes are related to both the theft, as well as his identification and arrest, the district attorney's office said.

The prosecutor's office also said that Alderete will be forced to pay $41,500 to League 42, the youth baseball outfit named after the Brooklyn Dodgers legend.

«We're glad that this particular chapter has been put to rest,» Bob Lutz, the executive director of League 42, told ESPN on Friday. «I'm glad that someone has been held accountable for this statue theft.»

«I hope that Mr. Alderete has learned from this experience. I hope that he has learned that what he and his accomplices did was harmful to a lot of people, including kids, and hopefully he'll do better.»

Police said they don't believe the crime to be racially motivated, based on what they know at this time.

There have been no more arrests connected to the case but, using surveillance video, police said there were at least two other individuals present when the statue was cut, leaving the bronze replicas of Robinson's cleats behind, and stolen from Wichita's McAdams Park where League 42 plays its games. Parts of the statue were later found, charred from a fire, in another park 7 miles away.

A police affidavit obtained by