A man accused of vandalizing the “Doughboy Statue” in Eureka Springs’ Basin Spring Park in September 2021 has been acquitted on criminal charges on the basis of mental disease or defect.

Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson issued the judgment Wednesday, Aug. 10, acquitting Dustin C. Doak of the felony charge of defacing an object of public respect. Jackson ordered the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office to transfer Doak to the custody of the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Jackson’s ruling cited the opinion of a clinical psychologist who examined Doak on June 30 and diagnosed him as schizophrenic.

Doak, 37, was arrested Sept. 24, 2021, the day after an employee of the Eureka Springs parks department reported that the veterans memorial statue in Basin Spring Park had been vandalized. A police officer reviewed video footage of the incident and Doak was identified as the person who damaged the statue.

Doak reportedly told police he felt compelled to attack the statue because it was a “false idol” and had “a bomb inside.”

While awaiting trial in the Eureka Springs incident, Doak was arrested June 24 in connection with a similar incident in Berryville. He was accused of using a hammer to damage the Carroll County Veterans Memorial on the downtown square.

The intake log at the Carroll County Detention Center in Berryville listed a Springdale address for Doak, but authorities described him as homeless.