A 42-year-old man who was arrested eight times over the past month for an array of misdemeanors was sentenced to six months in prison Tuesday for burning city surveillance cameras in Waikiki with a cigarette.
Stanford N.K. Nihoa, who has 36 prior misdemeanor and felony state convictions, was arrested Oct. 8 and charged with two counts of arson in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor. In addition to six months in prison, Nihoa was ordered to stay away from the pavilion where he damaged the cameras operated by the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Oct. 8 arson arrest was the eighth arrest for
Nihoa since Sept. 9.
Nihoa was arrested for disorderly conduct on
Sept. 9, Sept. 13 and spent two days in jail before being arrested again for disorderly conduct on Sept. 22. After he was released on Sept. 23,
Nihoa was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor theft and later released.
The next day, on Sept. 24, he was arrested on suspicion of robbery but released pending investigation and not charged.
Four days later, on
Sept. 28, Nihoa was arrested on suspicion of theft, did two days in jail and was given a six-month geographic restriction preventing him from being in Waikiki. Six days later, on Oct. 4, Nihoa was arrested for trespassing and spent another two days in jail.
Three days after he got out of jail, Nihoa was arrested on suspicion of theft and jailed for two more days.
Then at 12:34 p.m. on
Oct. 8, at the pavilion near the corner of Kalakaua and Kealohilani avenues, Nihoa used a cigarette to burn two cameras, including one behind the Waikiki police substation. Honolulu Police Department officers patrolling Waikiki found the plastic covers of two city surveillance cameras burned. The damage will cost the city about $700.
Three HPD officers reviewed the footage from the camera and recognized
Nihoa. Pictures of Nihoa after he was arrested show him smiling and flashing shakas while his hands are
handcuffed behind his back. HPD has about 119 cameras operating in Waikiki and the city maintains about 31.
“He is a known and repeat offender in District 6 (Waikiki),” according to an HPD incident report documenting the arson. Nihoa, who stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 225 pounds, has no local address and is unemployed, according to state court records.
In footage from the cameras, Nihoa is allegedly seen puffing a cigarette, then holding it against the camera cover for at least 15 seconds. It burned the covers enough to create black spots obstructing the camera’s view, according to state court documents.
Nihoa’s 36 prior state convictions include domestic
violence, assault, harassment, theft, disorderly conduct, felony car theft and criminal property damage.
There have been 76 arrests for arson on Oahu as of Wednesday, according to HPD statistics, compared with 151 in 2025.
Honolulu Prosecuting
Attorney Steve Alm told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that his office is pleased that Nihoa received a “significant just sentence for his crimes.”
“Police officers and prosecutors work hard to investigate criminal activity, make arrests, and bring appropriate charges. However, arrests and prosecutions are only part of the criminal justice process. There must also be meaningful accountability when individuals repeatedly engage in criminal conduct,” Alm said.
“The penal code currently does provide for appropriate consequences and we ask the judges to render sentences that reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, to provide just punishment for the offense, and to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant,” Alm said.
“The sentence given should reflect those values and sometimes they don’t,” he said.
