Second Suspect in Hank Aaron Burglary Pleads Guilty

The second of three people accused of burglarizing the home of Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron in 2013 has elected to plead guilty to charges related to the crime instead of facing trial, the Fulton County District announced Tuesday.

23-year-old Amir Coleman pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and two counts of theft by taking and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 25 years on probation by Judge Shawn LaGrua. His co-accomplice Isiah Slaton pleaded guilty on Monday and received a sentence of eight years in prison and 42 years on probation.

According to the district attorney’s office, Coleman has three prior burglary convictions on his record, while Slaton has been convicted for burglary on four previous occasions.

Coleman, Slaton, and co-conspirator Edward Buford allegedly broke into the home of Hank and Billye Aaron on July 13, 2014. The burglars ransacked the home, and stole rings which Hank Aaron had planned to donate to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Before leaving the home, the burglars stole both of the Aaron’s BMWs.

The Aarons were out of town at the time, but Hank told investigators that the burglary made him feel “violated.”

Buford, who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony against Coleman and Slaton, said that his colleagues wanted to sell Aaron’s baseball rings, which were the result of a Hall of Fame career which spanned from 1954 to 1976, for the grand total of $500.