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HAWAII COUNTY POLICE
William Roy Carroll III, 32, was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for damaging Hilo’s statue of King Kamehameha the Great.
A 32-year-old man, who damaged Hilo’s statue of King Kamehameha the Great and hid the top portion of its bronze spear, was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison, according to the Hawaii Tribune Herald.
A jury in May convicted William Roy Carroll III of second- and third-degree theft and second-degree criminal property damage.
The 6-foot portion of the spear was reported missing from the statue by a tour guide on Labor Day, Sept. 6. The spear and a section of heavy chain stolen from nearby Bayfront Motors that apparently was used to break the spear was found two days later by police in an overgrown, grassy area along a flood canal near the statue.
Carroll, who has been in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center for almost a year, will receive credit for time served.
The statue, located near downtown Hilo in the Wailoa River State Park, is one of four statues of King Kamehameha I. The other three are located in Kohala on the Big Island, in downtown Honolulu and in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.
Big Island Deputy Prosecutor Haaheo Kahoohalahala said Carroll, who was awaiting trial in Honolulu for a felony drug charge, DUI and driving without a license, violated a court order by leaving Oahu and vandalizing the statue, the newspaper reported.
“Those offenses were committed less than two days after he arrived on the Big Island,” Kahoohalahala said. “… Whatever the state offered the defendant prior to trial was rejected by the defendant, and so it should no longer be considered. The state gave the defendant the opportunity to take responsibility for what he did, but he did not, and he refuses to take any responsibility for his own actions.”
Got what he deserved. Not his first rodeo.
Pretty sure, you will be hearing about this guy again.
yea in five years…
It depends a lot on what happens/happened with the Honolulu felony drug & DUI cases mentioned in the article that he had pending trial at the time of this offense.
Convicted defendant’s usually don’t serve the full term of their sentences, unless they committed a serious violent offense and did everything possible wrong while in prison. He’ll probably be out in less than 5 and given the description of his attitude, will end up right back in court/jail.
and killers get less……….
“PGKEMP” … I was going to say the same thing … “fiveo” is right in that we’ll be hearing his name again after he’s out of jail. Looks like a person w/ real issues
Per HPA website: FY 2015 average minimum sentence for murder was 41.93 years, with a range of 15 – 50 years. An average of 41.93 years will tell you that a majority of the minimum terms were set closer to the 50 year range. A minimum term is the amount of time an inmate must serve before becoming eligible for parole. How is this less than five years? What’s more upsetting to me is that the guy that robbed the pharmacy at gunpoint and who was prosecuted in federal court only got one year more than the guy that damaged the statue.
And Brock Turner will only serve 3 months in a county jail for sexually assaulting and penetrating an unconscious woman.
And just last month, a case regarding a dui hit/run/killed someone guy got 30 days in jail and 4 years probation. Wow.
Good ole Albert Hee is serving less than him for stealing much much more from the Hawaiians. And with special food to go with that.
Good for him. Be proactive and give him a life sentence. He is a repeat offender with no intent to change. Protect the community
Five well deserved years for the idiot.
Driver crashes, someone dies, driver leaves the scene, driver gets one year in jail.
That was my first thought when reading of the 5 year sentence. Kind of backwards our Judicial system.
Hit and run drivers who cause fatal injuries (that is, kill people) get less time.
I’m guessing he will no longer be cast as Mr. Spock…
Five years for 2nd and 3rd degree theft as well as criminal property damage…1 year credited….But Wait, it gets better…still has to go to trial for “… a felony drug charge, DUI and driving without a license, violated a court order by leaving Oahu…” This guy won’t be around for a while.
No worry, I bet he has a hard time sleeping at night and has visitors…the spooky kine!
Someone’s gene pool is screwed up.
What ever happened to the old dude who said he was going to kill whoever stole the spear tip?
He backed off when he found out the guy who did it was Hawaiian. Makes a big difference out here
It shouldn’t. But Oh Well. At least we are not in a more hateful place and most of us get along just fine with one another.
He probably would have been sacrificed to the Hawaiian Gods already if the Kapu system was still in place.
If ever a photo describe the subject matter his does! Nothing redeeming in this individual, just throw in in jail and the key also. In the ole days they exiled this type to “devils island” a steaming jungle prison. Inhumane, not so for the likes of this type?
Wow! 5 Years for damaging a statue; yet Burning the Flag is OK…..
Burning is the proper way to dispose of a flag.
Yes you are right. However, not the usual way we see in the news. Anyway, other peoples comments are much more interesting and on point than mine.
Have a great day!
This is an excessive penalty for property damage, particularly since the missing part of the spear was recovered so it could be mended. Moreover, the statue is neither unique nor ancient — this wasn’t exactly damaging something handed down from kingdom days. There are vehicular homicides and manslaughters that get less time than this case of property damage.
Sure, it was senseless and insulting, but the punishment should fit the crime. This is overkill.
picture match the crime
5 years for stealing a metal spear and the ” Butcher of Benghazi” gets a free walk. Maybe if she was here, this judge would have found her guilty and given her a 5 year sentence.
Agree that the sentence seems unusually harsh for an act of vandalism when people who commit far greater crimes routinley get off with a slap on the wrist. The so-called justice system is completely nuts. People who have the money and/or connections can buy their way out.
Tattoo artists appear to have a thriving business.