Hearing set for alleged Kamehameha statue spear thief

William Carroll, who allegedly severed the spear on Hilo’s Kamehameha the Great statue, will return to court today for a preliminary hearing following his first appearance Monday.

Judge Harry Freitas maintained bail at $11,000 during his arraignment in Hilo District Court. Carroll, who remains in jail, did not enter a plea.

He is charged with second-degree theft, third-degree theft and second-degree criminal property damage. Carroll is originally from Oahu and has no permanent address.

According to a probable cause affidavit, he was caught on a Bayfront Motors security camera stealing a pole and about 40 feet of chain Labor Day weekend and dragging it in the direction of the statue in Wailoa River state park.

A tour operator reported a nearly six-foot section of the spear missing Sept. 6. Police found the spear, along with the pole and chain, concealed in a palm frond Sept. 8 along the banks of the Wailoa River.

Police arrested Carroll on Thursday at a state Department of Human Services office in downtown Hilo.

Earlier that week, he visited the Hawaii Tribune-Herald’s office inquiring about a monetary reward for information regarding the spear and claimed the Hawaii Police Department and Hilo Medical Center violated his rights. Carroll had not been identified as a suspect at the time.

The Kamehameha Schools East Hawaii Alumni Association maintains the statue and is raising funds for repairs, estimated as much as $7,500. That estimate includes repairing scrapes on the statue’s chest believed to have been caused when the spear segment was removed.

The lower half of the spear was removed from the statue Monday to allow the severed pieces to be reconnected.

The association hopes to have the spear reinstalled by the end of October.

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.