Okinawa police arrested 30-year-old sergeant first class affiliated with the U.S. Army in Okinawa on charges of stealing a kayak from a private home. He reportedly is denying the charges, saying that he picked it up off the street.

He is suspected of stealing a kayak valued at about 30,000 yen from a house in the Miyagi district of Chatan at around 3:35 a.m. on Feb. 9.

According to police, a 54-year-old man inside the house heard a suspicious sound. When he looked outside, the man saw the service member escaping while carrying on his back the kayak that had been outside the entrance to the house. Alcohol over four times the legal limit was detected on the service member’s breath.