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Reservist arrested for stalking Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest’s alleged stalker is an Army Reservist, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks confirmed Monday.

But Sgt. Chidi Uzomah Jr. is not the Special Forces expert that entertainment Web site TMZ was reporting as of Monday evening.

Uzomah was arrested Friday after reportedly trying to sneak into E! Entertainment Television offices in California while carrying a knife. News reports also say Uzomah visited Seacrests’s radio station in Burbank, Calif.

Banks said Uzomah is a member of the Army Reserve’s 426th Civil Affairs Battalion in California. He served in the California Army National Guard from April 2005 to April 2009. He was discharged to the Individual Ready Reserve until August 2009, when he took a voluntary reassignment to the Reserve.

Uzomah has never been deployed and has no awards or decorations, Banks said.

Banks said it’s too early to tell whether the Army would get involved in the case.

Banks, TMZ’s source in the news story, took issue with some of the Web site’s reporting. Banks said he did not apologize to Seacrest on behalf of the Army, as TMZ indicates in its coverage.

“I’m sorry for what had happened to Mr. Seacrest, but the Army would not get involved until the civilian process has taken place,” Banks said.

TMZ also claims that Uzomah has the skills of a Green Beret, but Banks said his training would have focused more on peacekeeping.