A Wichita man has been charged in the theft of an historic cannon from a local park.
A hearing was held Tuesday for 37-year-old Gordon Pierce III on charges of theft, aggravated criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia for use. His bond was set at $200,000 and his next court appearance was scheduled for April 21st.
Pierce is accused of taking an historic Spanish cannon from the Spanish-American War Memorial at Central Riverside Park. Wichita patrol officers and detectives with the Property Crimes Task Force found the cannon on April 3rd at a home in the 2000 block of North Woodland. Police said the cannon was significantly damaged. Pierce was arrested a short time later at another location.
The cannon was captured in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The United States presented the cannon to Kansas Governor W.E. Stanley on June 15th, 1900. Wichita Mayor Finlay Ross accepted it on August 6, 1900, and the cannon was assigned to Central Riverside Park. It weighs around 800 pounds and it was cast in Seville, Spain in 1794.
[ photos: Wichita City Council member Maggie Ballard – Facebook ]
