The man accused of stealing two World Series rings from Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona’s Tucson home told police that he sold the rings for $3,000, newly released court documents show.
The documents also say that Jamey Carl Estep, 33, a career criminal with convictions ranging from drug possession to armed robbery, has a history of theft and burglary charges stemming from the area near Francona’s Foothills-area home.
Estep, who was already in jail on unrelated charges, was rebooked Tuesday night on felony charges of burglary, theft and trafficking in stolen property in connection with the theft of the rings.
Francona reported the rings stolen to Pima County sheriff’s deputies on Nov. 7, along with three MLB All Star rings and one other baseball ring, according to an interim complaint released Wednesday afternoon.
Francona said he didn’t know when the World Series rings, which are worth a combined $160,000, and the other rings, which are worth roughly $20,000, were taken from his home, according to the complaint.
The investigation led to a man who had tried to sell the rings to a sports memorabilia shop in Phoenix, who told detectives that he bought the two rings on Dec. 11, 2018 for $10,000 from an independent jeweler, the complaint said.
When detectives interviewed the jeweler, he said that he had been contacted by a friend who owned an auto shop in Mesa. The shop owner told the jeweler that a tall man with a shaved head wanted to swap two World Series rings for a vehicle. A July arrest warrant listed Estep at 6 feet, 3 inches and 250 pounds.
The auto shop owner confirmed the story, telling police that the man did not end up buying the vehicle. Both the jeweler and shop owner identified Estep out of a lineup as the man who gave the jeweler the rings to sell, according to the complaint.
The jeweler told detectives that he asked Estep where he got the rings, and Estep told him he got them from his mother in Chicago.
Estep agreed to talk to detectives from jail, saying that he didn’t know anything about the rings but later adding that he bought the rings from a man named “Vincente” for $400 and sold them to a Middle Eastern man at a Mesa auto shop for $3,000, the complaint said.
Estep denied being involved in the burglary.
During the course of the investigation into the missing rings, Francona also said that a $245,830 check was fraudulently deposited earlier this year. A search warrant has been served in connection with a U.S. Treasury note in the amount of $245,830 that was deposited into Estep’s father’s girlfriend’s bank account, according to the interim complaint.
Additional charges could be pending, depending on what the warrant returns, according to the complaint.
Estep, 33, has been in and out of Arizona prisons since he was 17 years old, according to Arizona court and prison records.
In 2003, Estep was convicted of armed robbery, burglary and marijuana charges in two separate Maricopa County cases. Arizona Department of Corrections records show that he was sentenced to nine years in connection with the armed robbery charge, but it’s unclear how much of that sentence he actually served.
In May 2012, Estep was sentenced to eight months in prison for a marijuana violation and a year later, he returned to prison to serve time for a burglary conviction stemming from 2002.
He was released in March 2015, after which he was found guilty in Scottsdale City Court of shoplifting.
By 2018, Estep had made his way to Tucson and in July, he was arrested on felony charges of burglary, fraudulently obtaining a credit card, identity theft, auto theft and theft of goods or services up to $25,000, according to Pima County Superior Court records.
Court documents say that Estep broke into his neighbors’ house while they were on vacation, stealing credit cards, checks, electronics, jewelry and a 2015 Toyota Camry. The burglary is believed to have taken place in late April and was reported to police on June 1.
Estep was released from jail, and in the months that followed was arrested several more times.
In March, Estep was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting in Tucson City Court. In June, officers found Estep with a baggie of black tar heroin, paraphernalia and four fake $100 bills in his pocket. He was charged with several felonies in connection with the incident, court records show.
Estep was again granted bail, and a relative bonded him out for $2,200, according to court records.
A month later, on July 24, Estep was the passenger in a car that was stopped by sheriff’s deputies for possibly attempting to evade law enforcement, and a search of the car turned up a firearm within Estep’s reach. After Estep was read his Miranda rights, he admitted that the firearm was his, according to court documents. Deputies also found 15 packages of Suboxone, a medication used to assist the symptoms of opioid withdrawal, court records show.
Estep, a prohibited possessor because of his prior felony conviction, was charged with misconduct involving weapons and a narcotic drug violation. Estep again bailed out of jail and failed to appear for a court appearance on July 30, after which a warrant was issued for his arrest, court records show.
On Aug. 22, Oro Valley police interviewed Estep in jail in connection with a suspected organized retail theft ring. According to court documents, Estep was caught on camera stealing electronics from several Oro Valley retailers.
Estep is being held without bond. In the interim complaint, detectives said that Estep was heard in a jail recording telling his girlfriend that he plans on fleeing once released.
All of the cases, including the theft of Francona’s World Series rings, are pending in court.
Francona, a former University of Arizona baseball star, earned both rings during his time as manager of the Boston Red Sox, a position he held from 2004 to 2011. He has managed the Indians since the 2013 season.
