CHAMBLEE, Ga. -- Kenneth Lamar Noid, charged with holding two employees at gunpoint in a Domino's restaurant, apparently thought the pizza chain's 'Avoid the Noid' television commercials were aimed at him, police said.
Noid, 22, of Albany, Ga., described as having mental problems, ended a six-hour hostage standoff Monday by surrendering peacefully after his hostages escaped unharmed.
He was charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault and theft by extortion for demanding $100,000 from Domino's, police said.
'He's paranoid,' said Police Chief Reed Miller, who said Noid had a criminal record, mostly for domestic disputes.
Police said Noid had a mental hangup about Tom S. Monaghan, owner of the Domino's Pizza chain based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Noid thinks Monagham 'comes in his apartment and looks around,' Miller said.
Officials said Noid apparently was upset about Domino's 'Avoid the Noid' ad campaign, which features a cartoonish, red-hatted creature called the 'Noid' that unsuccessfully tries to chill Domino's pizzas before they can be delivered.
'Apprarently, he thinks they're aimed at him,' said police Sgt. Mark Bender.
Witnesses said a man wielding a .357-caliber Magnum revolver burst into the restaurant around 11 a.m. Monday and allegedly told one of the employees to call police and tell them to stay away.
When police arrived, Noid fired four warning shots into the ceiling, police said. Officers did not return the fire.
The gunman told police he did not want to kill the hostages but he would if police came into the restaurant. Noid demanded $100,000, a car and a science fiction book titled 'The Widow's Son.'
'He is very irrational. He is very hard to talk to,' Miller said during the standoff.
About 4:25 p.m., one of the hostages, Sean Burnsed, 22, fled the store and some 15 minutes later, the other, Darrell L. Wilson, 25, ran out the front door when Noid turned his back. Minutes later, Noid surrendered.
