An inmate booked into the Ottawa County Detention Center late last month faces a psychiatric evaluation after setting fire to a statue behind the center field fence at the Commerce High School baseball field on November 27.
Garrette Lee Brown, who has had numerous arrests in the past, 33, appeared in court November 16 after he set fire to a statue of baseball hall of Famer Mickey Mantle saying he aimed to "free" Mantle from the statue.
Mickey Mantle, famously known as "The Commerce Comet," was a Hall of Fame player for the New York Yankees and had previously played for Commerce High School's baseball team.
Brown confessed to authorities that he dislikes statues. Upon his arrest, he argued that he shouldn't be detained because he believed he did not damage the statue by starting the fire.
He further justified his actions by expressing his disapproval of statues idolizing figures other than God. Additionally, Brown mentioned to the police that he lit the fire to warm his hands due to the cold.
Witnesses noted seeing a man, later identified as Brown, in a black jacket and blue shorts, accompanied by a black dog and using a wheelbarrow to place items around the statue's base.
According to a probable cause affidavit, this individual set a large construction barrier alight and then fled the scene.
Brown has a long list of criminal offenses, with most occurring in Ottawa County, including charges of burglary, possession of a controlled substance. injuring or burring public buildings and public intoxication In 2019 he was sentenced to 20 years in the ODC with ten years suspended. and was released in early 2023 on parole.
