Police caught a break in the case of a valuable Wyland painting stolen from a Waikiki art gallery when a man walked into the police station and told investigators he believed the truck he was in the process of buying was involved in the theft, according to a police affidavit filed in District Court.

James Asing and Lorna Rosa, Smith Street residents described as boyfriend and girlfriend, were arrested Wednesday in a parking lot on Punchbowl Street on suspicion of first-degree theft.

Police asked for the public's help after the painting priced at $700,000 was taken from the Wyland Galleries Waikiki Sept. 6.

A man walked out of the gallery with the 4-by-6-foot work, "Dolphin Dawn," and placed it in the back of a teal or turquoise-blue GMC pickup truck that sped away with a woman at the wheel, witnesses said.

The 1999 artwork was recovered in Chinatown undamaged on Sept. 8. On Sept. 14, a man who said he was in the process of buying the truck went up to the security post at the entrance to the main police station and told officers he had information about the art theft.

The man told investigators he lent the truck to Asing about 5 p.m. Sept. 6 and it was returned to him about 10 p.m. He said that Asing later told him that police had a partial license plate number and were looking for the truck, and that the painting had been in the truck.

Witness, including the truck buyer and people who were working in or near the gallery, identified Asing and Rosa via a photo lineup, according to the affidavit.