Vandal of church
statue faces
prison time

He asks the court to release
him pending sentencing in March

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By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

The man who vandalized the St. Augustine statue in Waikiki and is a religious man who preached to street people in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu could spend more than seven months in jail.

Joseph Samaha, 24, pleaded guilty in Circuit Court earlier this week to criminal property damage. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2002, but remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail.

"We consider him a flight risk because he has no local address and no job," said Jeanette Holmes, deputy city prosecutor.

Samaha was arrested Aug. 1 at Honolulu Airport after police got a call from his mother-in-law on the mainland, according to a police affidavit. The mother-in-law told police Samaha bragged about knocking over a statue at a Catholic church sometime in May and offered to show her a newspaper article about it.

At the time, Samaha was in the Navy, stationed on Oahu.

Holmes said Samaha was discharged from the Navy in June and was on his way to Thailand when he was arrested.

"He and his wife were going to work in a Christian mission over there, helping underprivileged people and spreading the gospel," said Richard Gronna, Samaha's attorney.

Gronna said Samaha's wife, Christy, is seven months pregnant with their first child.

Samaha is asking the court to be released to the custody of his pastor or for reduced bail pending his sentencing. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12.

The criminal property damage charge is a Class C felony, which carries a maximum five-year prison term and $10,000 fine.

The statue was damaged in the early morning hours on May 13. Residents living in apartment buildings near St. Augustine Church at 130 Ohua St. told police they were awakened by a loud banging noise. They said they saw a man repeatedly striking the statue with a copper pipe that the vandal left at the scene when he fled.

A co-worker told police his stepson accompanied Samaha to preach to street people. According to a police affidavit, the co-worker said his stepson was with Samaha when Samaha damaged the statue.

"He feels very ashamed for what he has done. He's taking responsibility for his actions at the earliest stage to save people time and grief," Gronna said. However, he would not comment on his client's motive or reason for vandalizing the statue.

The church removed the damaged statue and plans to replace it with one made of bronze.