TUCSON, AZ – A 35-year-old Tucson man, Jamey Estep has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for trafficking 6 championship, all-star, and college Hall of Fame rings stolen from former Major League Baseball player and manager Terry Francona.
Estep pleaded guilty to one count of Trafficking in Stolen property with a stipulated prison sentence of five years in the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
Francona discovered that his championship and all-star rings were stolen from his Tucson-area home, after returning home from the 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) season.
Estep took two MLB World Series Championship rings, three MLB All-Star rings, and one college Hall of Fame ring. Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) detectives tracked the two World Series Championship rings to a memorabilia collector in the Phoenix-area who was attempting to sell them. After following multiple investigative leads, PCSD detectives eventually traced the rings back to Estep. When interviewed, Estep initially denied possessing the rings, but eventually claimed that he bought them for $400 from a friend and later sold them to a memorabilia collector in Phoenix.
While the investigation was pending, Estep, through his attorney, worked with investigators to recover a College Hall of Fame ring, which also belonged to Francona. The three MLB All-Star rings have not been recovered.