News
Ripken No. 8 tribute stolen, recovered
Four Baltimore-area men allegedly caught on cameraBy Lisa Winston / MLB.com
09/09/09 12:59 PM ET
Four men were arrested Wednesday morning, suspected of stealing the aluminum No. 8 statue that stands outside Camden Yards ballpark in Baltimore in commemoration of Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr.The statue is one in a series of 4-foot-tall aluminum monuments outside an entrance to the ballpark that depict the retired uniform numbers of Baltimore stars. The others include Brooks Robinson's No. 5, Jim Palmer's No. 22 and Eddie Murray's No. 33.
The quartet was arrested about two hours after the theft was discovered and the monument was recovered, according to The Associated Press.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the heist was caught via closed-circuit TV security cameras, which taped the men removing the monument, putting it in the back of a pickup truck and driving away.
The suspects were identified as Gary Parker, 19, of Baltimore; Matthew Rayner, 19, of Chase; Patrick Reynolds, 18, of Middle River; and Jason Stonebuner, 19, of Essex. They will be charged with theft and destruction of property, Guglielmi said.
Orioles director of public relations Monica Barlow told the AP that the team had no comment about the theft because it was a police matter. She said she did not know when the monument would be reinstalled.
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
