Man charged with stalking Ryan Seacrest
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Prosecutors brought felony charges Monday
against an Army reservist who allegedly stalked Ryan Seacrest,
including showing up at the ``American Idol'' host's studio and
attacking one of his bodyguards.
Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr., 25, faces up to four years in prison
if convicted of the stalking charge.
He was arrested Friday after he appeared at the E! Entertainment
Television headquarters and tried to see Seacrest, whose radio show
is produced at the location. A restraining order petition filed by
Seacrest's attorneys stated he was carrying a knife.
``His aggressive and violent efforts to come into physical
contact with me are extremely frightening to me,'' Seacrest wrote
in a declaration for the restraining order Friday. ``They have
jeopardized not only my personal safety, but also the safety and
well-being of those around me.''
It is not his first brush with the law related to his Seacrest
obsession.
Uzomah is on probation after pleading guilty in September to
assault, battery and carrying a switchblade knife in Orange County
after he attempted to meet Seacrest after an event and attacked one
of the radio and television host's bodyguards. The charges were all
misdemeanors.
Soon after his plea, Uzomah allegedly went to the offices of a
radio station that airs Seacrest's morning show, not realizing
Seacrest wasn't there. He then was arrested after showing up at the
E! building last week.
Jail records do not indicate whether Uzomah has an attorney and
attempts to locate a working phone number were unsuccessful.
Uzomah is a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve and serves as a
combat medic, Army Lt. Col. Nathan Banks said Monday. He first
joined Army National Guard in 2005 and was honorably discharged
earlier this year, but returned to the Reserve in August.
Banks said there was no record of Uzomah serving overseas.
``It's an unfortunate incident which has happened,'' Banks said.
``We're watching it.''
Banks said Uzomah could be subject to Army discipline and may be
considered ``absent without leave'' - or AWOL - but is presumed to
be innocent until the case in Los Angeles is resolved.
Uzomah remains jailed on $150,000 bail and is scheduled to be
arraigned on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County prosecutors also charged Uzomah with two
misdemeanor counts of attempting to disobey a court order by trying
to see Seacrest.
11/02/09 18:32
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