Man arrested for stealing Jackie Robinson statue

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On Tuesday, police announced that a 45-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the theft of a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson, which was later dismembered and set on fire.

Wichita Police Lt. Aaron Moses said the man was previously arrested in an unrelated case and charged Monday with multiple charges, including aggravated criminal damage to property. Moses said he was “very confident that this was not a race-related crime.” He said the reason was financial.

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Last month, thieves hacked off a bronze statue in a park in Wichita, Kansas. Only a foot of the statue remains at McAdams Park, where about 600 kids play in a junior baseball league called League 42, named after Robinson's uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, which broke the major leagues' color barrier in 1947. .

Firefighters found the charred remains of the statue five days later. A truck believed to have been stolen earlier was found abandoned, and police say the theft of a statue worth $75,000 was caught on surveillance video.

Donations are approaching $300,000, according to Bob Lutz, executive director of the Little League nonprofit that commissioned the statue.

Lutz said some of the extra money raised could improve some of its programs and facilities. In April, the group opened the Leslie Rudd Learning Center, which includes an indoor baseball field and learning lab.

Lutz, whose friend, artist John Parsons, created the sculpture before his death, said the form was still viable and could be replaced within months.

Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, which paved the way for generations of black American ballplayers. He is considered not only a sports legend, but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.

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