A 42-year-old man with 36 prior misdemeanor and felony convictions has been sentenced to six months in prison for burning two city surveillance cameras with a cigarette outside the Waikīkī police substation, capping a month in which he was arrested eight separate times. Stanford N.K. Nihoa was sentenced on October 13, and prosecutors say the case underscores just how often repeat offenders cycle through Honolulu's justice system with barely a pause between arrests.
Nihoa was sentenced for setting fire to the plastic covers of two surveillance cameras at a pavilion near Kalākaua and Kealohilani avenues in Waikīkī, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. One of the damaged cameras sat directly behind the Waikīkī police substation. State court documents cited by the paper describe footage allegedly showing Nihoa holding a lit cigarette against a camera cover for at least 15 seconds on October 8 at 12:34 p.m., leaving behind black spots that obstructed the camera's view.
Three Honolulu Police Department officers recognized Nihoa after reviewing the camera footage, the Star-Advertiser reported, and he was arrested that same day and charged with two counts of fourth-degree arson, a misdemeanor. He was also ordered to stay away from the pavilion where the cameras were damaged. Repairing the equipment will cost the city about $700, per the report.
A Month of Arrests Before the Fire
The camera arson capped an extraordinary stretch for Nihoa, who was arrested eight times in roughly a month on misdemeanor charges, the Star-Advertiser reported. He was booked on September 9 and again on September 13 for disorderly conduct, serving two days in jail after the second arrest. The arrests came in the weeks leading up to the camera-burning incident.
He was arrested again on September 22 for disorderly conduct and released the next day, only to be picked up on suspicion of misdemeanor theft shortly after and released once more. On September 24, he was arrested on suspicion of robbery but was not charged and was released pending investigation. Four days later, he was arrested again on suspicion of theft, spent two more days in jail, and was handed a six-month geographic restriction barring him from Waikīkī.
That stay-away order did not stop the cycle. Nihoa was arrested on October 4 for trespassing and jailed for two days. Separately, he was arrested on suspicion of theft and spent two more days behind bars. His prior record, per the same account, includes convictions for domestic violence, assault, harassment, theft, disorderly conduct, felony car theft, and criminal property damage. State court records describe him as 5 feet 11 inches tall, 225 pounds, unemployed, and without a local address. An HPD incident report described him as a known and repeat offender in District 6, the Waikīkī patrol district.
Why Waikīkī Leans on Cameras to Enforce Stay-Away Orders
Why Waikīkī Leans on Cameras to Enforce Stay-Away Orders Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm's Safe and Sound Waikīkī initiative, launched in September 2022, targets habitual offenders through targeted prosecutions and court-ordered geographic bans, as detailed by Civil Beat. In its first six months, the program produced more than 800 arrests and over 100 court-issued stay-away restrictions, according to The Manoa Mirror.
By February 2024, Waikīkī law enforcement credited the targeted enforcement approach with cutting criminal property damage by 27 percent and theft by 6 percent within the Waikīkī Business Improvement District, The Manoa Mirror separately reported. The same outlet has reported that repeat offenders who violate those geographic bans typically serve just two to three days in jail before being released back into the community — a limitation that mirrors the brief jail stints Nihoa cycled through in the weeks before the arson.
Honolulu Police Department's District 6 covers the 1.5-square-mile Waikīkī peninsula bordered by the Ala Wai Canal, Diamond Head, and the Pacific Ocean, operating out of the Waikīkī Police Substation on Kalākaua Avenue, according to HPD. The department maintains a municipal surveillance network of 10 fixed cameras in Waikīkī and 60 mobile units across Oʻahu under a 90-day video purge schedule, as previously reported by Hoodline. Separately, the Star-Advertiser reported that HPD operates about 119 cameras in Waikīkī overall, with the city maintaining roughly 31 of them.
Arson Numbers Climb Across Oʻahu
Nihoa's case adds to a broader pattern of fire-related crime across the island. Oʻahu had recorded 76 arson arrests as of Wednesday this year, according to HPD statistics cited by the Star-Advertiser, compared with 151 arson arrests logged in all of 2025. Fourth-degree arson is a misdemeanor.
Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said his office was pleased that Nihoa received what he called a significant, just sentence, according to the Star-Advertiser. Alm said criminal justice requires meaningful accountability when individuals repeatedly engage in criminal conduct, adding that sentences should reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, deter future crime, punish offenders justly, and protect the public.
