Hawaii County police arrested a 31-year-old homeless man Thursday for allegedly removing and stealing the top of the spear from the King Kamehameha statue in Wailoa State Park.
Police arrested the former Oahu man in Hilo at 3 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of second-degree theft and second-degree criminal property damage.
He was also arrested on suspicion of third-degree theft for allegedly taking a pipe and chain from a nearby used-car lot, police said.
Police said the man was caught on video surveillance walking to the statue and carrying the stolen items.
Groups plan to tally island’s rats
A survey that aims to gauge the rat population on a small Kauai County island that serves as a seabird sanctuary will get underway next week.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is joining with a nonprofit called Island Conservation and a group of interested parties to study the introduced population of rats on Lehua, an uninhabited island less than a mile north of Niihau.
The island is owned by the Coast Guard and managed as a seabird sanctuary by the DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife. It is home to many seabird species and native plants, including threatened or endangered species.
According to a news release issued Thursday by DLNR and Island Conservation, one of the main threats to the island’s plants and animals is the population of invasive Pacific rats, which prey on ground-nesting birds, eggs and chicks. They also eat seeds, bark and leaves of plants.
Slated to start Monday and wrap up Sept. 28, the study will involve a helicopter drop of nontoxic cereal-based rodent pellets. The pellets contain a dye that will allow the biologists to determine which animals eat them, and help establish estimates of the rat population. Results will be used to assess what actions, if any, might be needed to further protect Lehua’s native plants and animals.
Suspect faces multiple charges
Police say a Hilo man stole six ukulele and three government vehicles.
Blue Kela is charged with stealing the ukulele from a downtown Hilo store after breaking into the building July 31, police said Thursday. Police also allege he stole two Jeep Cherokees belonging to Hawaii County in August.
Last week the state Department of Agriculture reported a white Dodge Dakota pickup truck was stolen, with the thief ramming a chain-link fence to drive away with the vehicle.
Police said Thursday that Kela was later seen with the truck, which had the state logos removed from the front doors. A subsequent investigation revealed he was allegedly responsible for the ukulele and county vehicle thefts.
He’s charged with theft, burglary and other crimes.
His defense attorney couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
