Casino statue gets a vandal's hand

Dec. 20—A man vandalizing a Native American statue at a casino in far southern Garvin County now has to answer to a criminal charge filed against him.

Daniel Hooman Ali Azimi, only days away from his 29th birthday, is formally accused of vandalizing a bronze statue of a warrior in front of the Treasure Valley Casino.

The act, later seen on surveillance video, came in the morning hours of Dec. 11.

Azimi was also seen by casino employees tearing bronze arrows off the statue and then walking off into an open field near the casino, which is actually closer to Davis but located in Garvin County.

A court document shows Azimi was seen wearing one of the arrows as a belt. When approached by a security officer he pulled the other arrow out of his backpack.

Those same documents indicate the value of the entire statue is around $50,000, although it's unknown what that number is for just the arrows.

Azimi told officers he had come from Sulphur and Davis before the incident.

"Azimi said he stopped at the casino because the warrior statue appeared to be the same individual on the Chickasaw Nation seal on the bolo tie he bought at the Artesian," officers reported, referencing a hotel in Sulphur.

"Azimi said he felt connected to the warrior and admitted he took the arrow to show to a museum."

Surveillance cameras at the casino later showed it was just after 9 a.m. when Azimi walked up to the statue and tore off the arrow attached to a bow and then takes an arrow out of the statue's foot. The acts also bent a bow string resulting in the broken neck of an arrow on the statue.

The now defendant was arrested on complaints of grand larceny, possession of stolen property and malicious injury to property with the value over $1,000.

A felony count of malicious injury to property — over $1,000 was ultimately filed against Azimi in Garvin County District Court.

He was ordered to stay away from the casino if released from county jail in Pauls Valley.