Former Oʻahu Man Charged in Theft of Statue Spear

William Roy Carroll III. Photo credit Hawaiʻi Island Police.

Hawaiʻi Island police charged a former Oʻahu man in connection with the theft of a spear from the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo earlier this week.

Police say William Roy Carroll III, who has no permanent address, was being held in lieu of $11,000 bail and remained at the Hilo police cell block pending an initial court appearance set for Monday, Sept. 14, 2015.

Carroll was charged with second-degree theft, third-degree theft and second-degree criminal property damage.  The charges were brought at 1:20 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11 following an investigation and conferral with prosecutors.

The spear was stolen from the statue in Hilo at Wailoa State Park over the weekend.

The six-foot section of spear was last seen on Saturday, Sept. 5, and was reported missing on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015.

While conducting a search in the overgrowth behind the statue on Tuesday, authorities located and recovered the stolen section of the spear.  Police also processed the spear for any forensic evidence and returned it to the statue’s organizers.