Police arrested a 31-year-old homeless man Thursday who allegedly removed the top of a spear from the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo last weekend.
William Roy Carroll, formerly of Oahu, was arrested at 3 p.m. in downtown Hilo.
Capt. Robert Wagner said Carroll, who didn’t have a known address, was connected to the vandalism after video surveillance footage caught him carrying a pipe and chain that may have been used to break off the 6-foot segment late Saturday or early Sunday.
Carroll allegedly stole those items from a nearby used-car lot.
Wagner said it appears Carroll was a recent arrival from Oahu.
The statue is located in the Wailoa River State Recreation Area. Detectives found the ‘ihe Tuesday in an overgrown area along the banks of a channel leading to the Wailoa River.
Police recovered other evidence with the spear segment, but Lt. Gregory Esteban said he couldn’t comment on whether they were the items allegedly taken from the car lot.
The top of the spear was reported missing Sunday.
Carroll was arrested on suspicion of second-degree theft, second-degree criminal property damage and third-degree theft. He had not been charged as of press time.
The statue was installed in Hilo in 1997 and is maintained by the Kamehameha Schools’ East Hawaii alumni association.
The association raised funds to have the statue transferred from Kauai.
It’s not clear how soon the spear segment can be put back in its rightful place.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.