By Cameron Burnett
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WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — Newly released court documents say a Wichita man who stole an 800-pound historic cannon from a local park did so for drug money.
An affidavit states that 37-year-old Gordon Pierce III told Wichita police officers he believed his life was in danger after a drug dealer advised that Pierce owed him money, leading him to steal the cannon for money.
Pierce told police he went searching for copper statues to steal to make money throughout Wichita, and found the 800-pound cannon on the morning of April 2.
Pierce says he saw a homeless man at a nearby pavilion and offered the man meth and a pipe in exchange for helping him chain the cannon. The homeless man agreed to help Pierce, he said, after the two smoked meth together at the park.
Due to its weight, Pierce and the man who helped him were unable to load the cannon into his Tahoe. Pierce told police he drug the cannon with his Chevrolet Tahoe, but while doing so, the chain snapped several times.
While on 18th Street, Pierce alleges the chain snapped in front of an automotive shop, and he threw the last length of the chain into the Tahoe, left the cannon, and drove to a friend’s house nearby.
Pierce arrived at his friend’s house, who provided him with a new chain but did not agree to help him move the cannon. Pierce says he then returned to where he left the cannon and used the new chain to drag the cannon to his friend’s house, where he stored it in the garage.
Pierce told police he spent the next several hours using a sawzall to cut the cannon into four to five pieces, which he placed in his Tahoe. He said he left the largest piece of the cannon in his friend’s garage.
After getting the cannon pieces into his car, Pierce told police he took them to his drug dealer to show him that he was trying to pay for what he lost. The affidavit states that his drug dealer called Pierce “stupid,” telling him he is going to “bring heat to his house,” and to “get out.”
Pierce told police the dealer told him he was going to shoot him in the head the next time he saw him.
Feeling hopeless, Pierce said he went to his mother’s house to tell her what he did.
When officers asked Pierce about his plan, he said there was no specific reason for choosing the cannon other than it was located in a dark area. He also told police he did not have a specific plan to sell it as he did not have an ID, adding that identification is typically required to sell scrap materials.
A maintenance supervisor for the City of Wichita Parks and Recreation told police the value of the cannon is over $100,000, and the damage estimate to the granite pedestal is approximately $10,000.
During his arrest, officers found a clear baggie of white crystal-like substance on Pierce, which he told police was methamphetamine.
Pierce, now 38, remains jailed on $200,000 bond.
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