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MAN NEAR OBAMA WAS NOVELTY-SELLER
By Abby Simons - register staff writer
DesMoinesRegister.com, IA
July 6 2007
The owner of a Cincinnati novelty product company said Thursday the
man arrested outside Barack Obama's hotel in Ottumwa on Wednesday
morning was simply looking for the next rally to sell playing cards
bearing the candidate's image.
Davit Zakaryan, 24, remained in the Wapello County Jail on Thursday
on $6,825 cash bond.
But Ottumwa police do not intend to question Zakaryan further and did
not consider him dangerous, Lt. Mike McDonough of the Ottumwa Police
Department said. "I don't think he was ever considered a threat,"
McDonough said.
David Krikorian of Parody Productions said Zakaryan was no threat
to anyone when he was arrested for not having a driver's license and
possessing a knife with a blade over 8 inches long.
The knife had been purchased at a souvenir shop, Krikorian said.
Police said the ornamental knife was found in Zakaryan's car.
"He went out, like hundreds of other people do, to go to these rallies
and sell political items. That's all he did," Krikorian said.
"His crimes have nothing to do with the Obama campaign whatsoever,
even if he's committed crimes."
Zakaryan was arrested about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when he was spotted
loitering in the parking lot of the Fairfield Inn in Ottumwa.
He was questioned by U.S. Secret Service agents and later arrested
by Ottumwa police for not having a driver's license. He had furnished
to police only a foreign identification card.
His arrest made national news because Obama, a Democratic presidential
candidate, was staying at the hotel.
Krikorian said he first met Zakaryan, an Armenian who came to the
United States to study physics, last week when Zakaryan came into his
office, by way of a mutual friend, looking for work. Zakaryan bought
Obama- and Hillary Clinton-themed playing cards from Krikorian and
traveled through Iowa on Independence Day to sell them.
Krikorian said his "jaw hit the desk" when he first heard of the
story Thursday morning.
Zakaryan's roommate contacted him after the Secret Service searched
their Cincinnati home.
Krikorian has since contacted the Obama campaign, the Secret Service
and reporters to try to clear up the situation. He has also spoken
with Zakaryan's mother in Armenia, who was "on the phone sobbing."
Records show Zakaryan was convicted in Cincinnati in 2005 of stealing
a $16.99 brown wallet from a T.J. Maxx store.
"It sounds to me like everybody thinks this was a huge
misunderstanding," Krikorian said. "But again, the kid still sits
in jail."
Obama has been provided 24-hour security by the Secret Service since
May. Unspecified threats have been made toward the U.S. senator,
although spokesman Tommy Vietor said the incident involving Zakaryan
was the first arrest of its kind.
Krikorian said Zakaryan speaks and understands English, although his
accent is thick.
"The thing is, he looks foreign and speaks with a foreign accent, and
with terror alerts being high and other things going on, obviously
the Secret Service and police have a job to do and they did their
job in checking this person out."
Krikorian, who is Armenian-American, frequently hires and helps young
Armenian immigrants who arrive in the United States in various stages
of citizenship.
While several peddle campaign wares such as the playing cards, few
have a grasp of the American political process.
"When I talk to these gentlemen about the political situation,
they're not very knowledgeable - they don't know Obama from Rudy
(Giuliani). All he was doing was hustling his business as an
entrepreneur," he said.
By Abby Simons - register staff writer
DesMoinesRegister.com, IA
July 6 2007
The owner of a Cincinnati novelty product company said Thursday the
man arrested outside Barack Obama's hotel in Ottumwa on Wednesday
morning was simply looking for the next rally to sell playing cards
bearing the candidate's image.
Davit Zakaryan, 24, remained in the Wapello County Jail on Thursday
on $6,825 cash bond.
But Ottumwa police do not intend to question Zakaryan further and did
not consider him dangerous, Lt. Mike McDonough of the Ottumwa Police
Department said. "I don't think he was ever considered a threat,"
McDonough said.
David Krikorian of Parody Productions said Zakaryan was no threat
to anyone when he was arrested for not having a driver's license and
possessing a knife with a blade over 8 inches long.
The knife had been purchased at a souvenir shop, Krikorian said.
Police said the ornamental knife was found in Zakaryan's car.
"He went out, like hundreds of other people do, to go to these rallies
and sell political items. That's all he did," Krikorian said.
"His crimes have nothing to do with the Obama campaign whatsoever,
even if he's committed crimes."
Zakaryan was arrested about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when he was spotted
loitering in the parking lot of the Fairfield Inn in Ottumwa.
He was questioned by U.S. Secret Service agents and later arrested
by Ottumwa police for not having a driver's license. He had furnished
to police only a foreign identification card.
His arrest made national news because Obama, a Democratic presidential
candidate, was staying at the hotel.
Krikorian said he first met Zakaryan, an Armenian who came to the
United States to study physics, last week when Zakaryan came into his
office, by way of a mutual friend, looking for work. Zakaryan bought
Obama- and Hillary Clinton-themed playing cards from Krikorian and
traveled through Iowa on Independence Day to sell them.
Krikorian said his "jaw hit the desk" when he first heard of the
story Thursday morning.
Zakaryan's roommate contacted him after the Secret Service searched
their Cincinnati home.
Krikorian has since contacted the Obama campaign, the Secret Service
and reporters to try to clear up the situation. He has also spoken
with Zakaryan's mother in Armenia, who was "on the phone sobbing."
Records show Zakaryan was convicted in Cincinnati in 2005 of stealing
a $16.99 brown wallet from a T.J. Maxx store.
"It sounds to me like everybody thinks this was a huge
misunderstanding," Krikorian said. "But again, the kid still sits
in jail."
Obama has been provided 24-hour security by the Secret Service since
May. Unspecified threats have been made toward the U.S. senator,
although spokesman Tommy Vietor said the incident involving Zakaryan
was the first arrest of its kind.
Krikorian said Zakaryan speaks and understands English, although his
accent is thick.
"The thing is, he looks foreign and speaks with a foreign accent, and
with terror alerts being high and other things going on, obviously
the Secret Service and police have a job to do and they did their
job in checking this person out."
Krikorian, who is Armenian-American, frequently hires and helps young
Armenian immigrants who arrive in the United States in various stages
of citizenship.
While several peddle campaign wares such as the playing cards, few
have a grasp of the American political process.
"When I talk to these gentlemen about the political situation,
they're not very knowledgeable - they don't know Obama from Rudy
(Giuliani). All he was doing was hustling his business as an
entrepreneur," he said.