Man Arrested Outside John Kerry's Home Ordered To Stay In Jail
BOSTON (CBS) – A man arrested outside Secretary of State John Kerry's Beacon Hill home has been ordered to stay in jail.
Vladimir Romanov, 29, of Chestnut Hill, was arraigned Monday afternoon in Boston Municipal Court, a day after he was taken into custody for having an open container of alcohol while he was parked near Kerry's Louisburg Square townhouse.
State Department security officers called Boston police Sunday afternoon after a man was seen acting suspiciously, parked in a no-parking zone taking photographs of Kerry's house.
Kerry was not home at the time.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
Man Arrested Outside Kerry Home
Police said Romanov was unsteady on his feet and his eyes were "glassy."
According to the prosecutor, Romanov told them he was taking the photos for a friend who was in jail, claiming he wanted to show him bars in the Boston area.
When an officer asked him for identification he allegedly said, "I cannot do that at this point" but he eventually produced a Russian ID card.
Officers searched his car and found a pellet gun, three cell phones, a TomTom Navigation system, a black canvas bag containing seven carbon dioxide cartridges and an open container of brandy. All were seized as evidence.
"We had a conversation with him and at the end of the conversation, the police made the decision to take him into custody for the open container law and he was transported to the station and booked," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Monday.
"He didn't speak very much. He basically indicated that he had trouble speaking English, so he didn't give a long explanation as to why he was there," Davis said.
"It could very well just been an individual who had too much to drink and made a bad decision."
Davis said police and diplomatic security are taking "a close look" at Romanov, who also has two other pending cases - an OUI charge in Waltham and an assault charge in Quincy.
As a result of Sunday's incident, the judge revoked his bail in one of the cases and ordered Romanov to stay in jail. He's due back in court September 25.
Romanov is a self-employed tiler and is married. In the Quincy case, he's accused of assaulting customers with a hammer.
Kerry has been in Boston to be with his wife, who is being treated at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital after having seizure-like symptoms earlier this month.
