LIHU‘E — The man who set fire to the Kilauea Episcopal Church on Easter Eve was sentenced to felony probation Thursday in 5th Circuit Court. Henry Matthew Garvey III, 51, of Kilauea, was sentenced to a five-year probation and time
LIHU‘E — The man who set fire to the Kilauea Episcopal Church on Easter Eve was sentenced to felony probation Thursday in 5th Circuit Court.
Henry Matthew Garvey III, 51, of Kilauea, was sentenced to a five-year probation and time served for the second-degree arson of the historic church on April 7, 2012. Most of the damage was limited to a rear pew and wall, stained glass windows, carpet and a chandelier.
Chief Judge Randal Valenciano gave the defendant a stay away order from the church property unless he has permission from his probation officer.
Garvey pleaded no contest to second-degree arson on Dec. 13, 2012. The class B felony could have brought up to a 10-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine. The remaining three charges of second-degree criminal property damage, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were dropped by the state as part of the plea deal.
This is not the same man who was arrested, said State Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Sato. The defendant is an accomplished man who could not accept a diagnosis for a mental disease that came later in life.
He is remorseful and has accepted responsibility, Sato added. He is working now and has a home and he has embraced his therapy and doing very well, she added.
County Second Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Vogt provided an account of the crime, saying that Garvey was intoxicated when he called police dispatch to report the fire. He verbally accosted the operator and made racial slurs toward police officers at the scene while physically resisting arrest and hindering efforts to extinguish the fire.
A police officer reportedly extinguished the blaze before firefighters arrived. The same officer also reported that Garvey was belligerent and resisted arrested for disorderly conduct. The arson charge was filed the following day.
Garvey said that he was mourning the death of a brother and was depressed and confused when he entered the church and was not in his right mind. Sato’s request for a deferment of the sentence was denied. It would have kept the conviction off of Garvey’s record after successful completion of probation.
Vogt objected to a deferment and requested the maximum 18-month jail sentence allowable with felony probation. She recalled that the fire occurred on Holy Saturday evening after 10 p.m., and that church members cleaned overnight to hold services on Easter Sunday. He burned prayer books and hymnals to start the fire, and other damage included broken tombstones, a brass crucifix, a welcome sign and an oil-filled candelabra in the front alcove.
Valenciano said that although it was good to see that Garvey was doing well with treatment, he denied the deferment so the court would have a record of the offense. He did not order more jail time, however, and sentenced him to the approximately 194 days served prior to granting supervise release in November.
The court did not order restitution because there was not a request filed by the victim, Valenciano added. Garvey was found fit to proceed to trial in August and stayed with a couple while under care of a physician.
