 Arnold. Courtesy of Boone Police.
using “overbearing, high-pressure sales tactics,” several Appalachian State University
students have come forward to speak about their experiences with the door-to-door
solicitors.
Salesperson Jerad Michael Arnold was arrested Wednesday, after police received numerous
complaints about salespeople acting suspiciously and refusing to leave residences
when asked.
A female resident reported Wednesday that Arnold refused to leave her residence unless she either submitted to drug use and sexual activity or bought a magazine subscription, according to police.
There has been an increase of complaints about door-to-door solicitors over the past two weeks, Sergeant Matt Stevens said.
“The victim in the case contacted the police and she knew his name,” Stevens
said. “She had purchased a subscription to get him out of her house, so she got a
name and a good description. Then police officers got another call about a suspicious
person selling magazines and they were able to catch him.”
During the last week of November, senior healthcare management major Lindsay
Mayer was in her room when she heard an exchange between her roommate,
Caldwell Community College student Alisha Koepf, and two magazine salespeople.
After seeing a news article about Arnold’s arrest on Facebook, Koepf now realizes
one of the men was Arnold.
The two men gave Koepf a spiel about magazine sales and said if they sold a
certain amount, they would get to go on a cruise. Koepf said she immediately felt
uncomfortable.
“Someone selling something after 5 p.m. seemed really sketchy,” she said.
Koepf tried to close the door several times, but the men wouldn’t leave until she
slammed the door in their faces.
“I was lucky they were only pushy about magazine sales and not anything else,”
Koepf said.
Mayer said she heard the men knocking on doors all over her apartment complex.
Arnold continued trying to make magazine sales up to the week of his arrest.
Junior public relations major Erin Wood was alone in her apartment Tuesday, when
Arnold knocked on her door.
Wood said he looked “like a normal college student” in a flannel shirt and jeans.
“I’ve had neighbors knock on doors to borrow stuff, so I didn’t think much of it,” she
said.
Arnold first told Wood he was a new student and was trying to meet the neighbors.
Eventually, he changed tactics and told her he was trying to gain points to win a trip
to the Virgin Islands. Arnold told Wood he could gain points by selling magazines.
“That’s when I kind of caught on that it was more of a sales pitch than him really
trying to meet people,” Wood said. “I told him I’m a college student and I don’t have
a lot of extra disposable income, so I wasn’t able to buy any.”
Arnold became more persistent after Wood turned him down, so she chose to shut
and lock her door.
Wood saw the news articles about Arnold’s arrest on Facebook and realized it was the
same man who had tried to sell her magazines.
“I was very, very shocked that I had opened the door on someone who tried to have
sexual advances with other girls,” Wood said. “I’m really lucky.”
Story: ANNE BUIE, Senior News Reporter |
