A homeless man accused of vandalizing the Kamehameha statue in Hilo has pleaded not guilty, but not before he enjoyed an overnight pass from the jail, courtesy of a paperwork snafu.
A homeless man accused of vandalizing the Kamehameha statue in Hilo has pleaded not guilty, but not before he enjoyed an overnight pass from the jail, courtesy of a paperwork snafu.
On Wednesday, Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara ordered 31-year-old William Roy Carroll to appear for a jury trial at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 25.
Deputy Prosecutor Jack Matsukawa told the judge the trial would take a week and Deputy Prosecutor Haaheo Kahoohalahala is the state’s lead prosecutor.
Carroll’s case was moved from Hilo District Court to Circuit Court after prosecutors on Tuesday filed an information complaint charging him with 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.
Judge Harry Freitas on Tuesday afternoon dismissed the District Court case against Carroll after being informed by Carroll’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Zachary Wingert, that his client had been served with the information complaint, which was time-stamped 11:37 a.m. Tuesday.
Officials at Hawaii Community Correctional Center, however, received the paperwork from District Court dismissing the case before learning charges against Carroll were still active due to the Circuit Court document. He was released from the Hilo jail later Tuesday.
“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.”
Police picked up Carroll without incident at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday on Kilauea Avenue.
During arraignment, Wingert asked Hara to grant Carroll supervised release or a bail reduction.
“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.”
Hara said he wouldn’t consider supervised release for Carroll “unless we get him into some kind of situation where he’s getting an assessment (for mental health),” and maintained bail at $11,000.
This isn’t the first-time a paperwork foul-up has resulted in the unintended release of an inmate from HCCC. On March 6, 2013, the jail released Tyler Kamana‘o Taylor, then charged with and later convicted of the knifepoint robbery of two tourists the previous month at Kolekole Beach Park.
Taylor’s release occurred under similar circumstances, after a District Court judge dismissed charges in that court upon learning Taylor had been indicted and his case would be heard in Circuit Court.
At the time, DPS officials said the Hilo jail received the paperwork dismissing the District Court case, but not the indictment paperwork.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.