Man who stole Jackie Robinson statue from park sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison

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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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The statue was snatched in January.  (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"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.

Police announced Feb. 13 the arrest of a man in the theft of the Jackie Robinson statue that later was found dismantled and burned.  (Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle via AP, File)

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The statue was cut from its base, leaving only bronze