Commerce man accused of trying to burn Mickey Mantle statue

COMMERCE, Okla. – A Commerce man told authorities he set fire to a Mickey Mantle statue to "free" the Hall-of-Fame Baseball legend.  

Garrette Lee Brown, 33, is charged in Ottawa County District Court with fourth-degree arson. He is to appear in court on Monday, as the online court records show.

Brown is accused of setting fire to the statue on Nov. 27, which sits behind the center field fence of the Commerce High School baseball field.

Mantle, a Hall of Fame baseball player with the New York Yankees, was known as "The Commerce Comet" and played for the Commerce High School baseball team.

Brown told authorities he “does not like statues” and “felt he should ‘free’ Mickey Mantle from the statue,” court records state. When Brown was taken into custody, he said, “he should not be arrested because he did not harm the statue by lighting the fire.”

Brown reportedly exclaimed multiple times that he lit the fire because he does not like statues "idolizing" anyone other than God. Brown also explained he was cold, so he lit the fire to keep his hands warm, according to authorities. 

Earlier in the evening, a witness reported to authorities of seeing a male wearing a black jacket and blue shorts, along with a black dog and wheelbarrow, stacking items next to and on top of the statue's base, according to a probable cause affidavit. The witness reported the male lit "a large construction barrier on fire" and ran from the area, court records show.  

Authorities later identified Brown as the unknown male.

Brown remains in the Ottawa County jail and is held on $10,000 bail.