HILO » A homeless man accused of vandalizing the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo has pleaded not guilty.

Roy Carroll, 31, appeared in Hilo Circuit Court Wednesday on charges of second- and third-degree theft and criminal property damage for allegedly taking a chain from the Bayfront Motors used-car lot and using it to sever the top 6 feet of the spear from the bronze statue of the monarch, according to the Hawaii Tribune Herald.

The top section of the spear held by a statue of the Hawaiian warrior was reported missing Sept. 6. Detectives returned to the scene days later when they found the missing spear section in overgrowth on the banks of a channel behind the statue. Carroll was arrested Sept. 10 in connection to the incident.

Deputy Public Defender Zachary Wingert asked Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara for supervised release or a bail reduction while the man awaits his Jan. 25 trial.

"Mr. Carroll doesn’t have any prior felony convictions," Wingert said. "I’ve also been informed he was accidentally released yesterday for a period of time. . He was able to go to Hope Services, checked in, and stayed there overnight. He’d be willing to do the same if allowed supervised release."

Officials at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center said they received paperwork dismissing Carroll’s district court case, but not the indictment moving the case to circuit court.

Carroll was released Tuesday. When the paperwork came through, he was picked up without incident Wednesday morning.

"There was no accidental release," state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said Wednesday morning. "He was released per court order for the dismissal. And then, after releasing him, Circuit Court came out with the (information) papers."

The judge denied Wingert’s request, saying he would want Carroll to be in a situation where he could have a mental health assessment. He maintained bail at $11,000.