Didja Hear The One About the Iranian Gun Dealer In McMinnville?

Okay, sure. You hear about a gun shop in McMinnville and you figure it's probably an ex-cop or something trying to get free ammo. Of course the storyline might shift a little when you find out the Iranian in question wasn't really an Iranian. He was Canadien! And you know how much we trust our northern friends, the Canucks.

This all came about because a friendly guy, by the name of Oliver King, was being followed by federal agents as he left McMinnville for a short ride to Ferndale. Once in Ferndale, the feds decided to stop Mr. King--what a "white" name, no?--and see what he was hauling around. Not much. The search turned up two shotguns, two semiautomatic handguns and about 480 rounds of .50-caliber ammunition. Which is the way I ride.



Now it probably doesn't help his, Mr. King's, case that he isn't really Oliver King. His real name is Hamid Malekpour. But Olly sounds so funny! Not at all dangerous!

That the business in McMinnville is owned by a guy named Amir Zarandi prolly isn't important. What's in a name? A rose, after all.

When the feds asked to inspect the storage unit in Ferndale, they didn't find much. "In it, they found a .50-caliber sniper rifle, two .308-caliber sniper rifles, three .300-caliber sniper rifles, eight law enforcement style .223-caliber rifles, three Glock semi-automatic handguns, 100 .223-caliber magazines, 3,800 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, various high-powered scopes and other equipment." ("Arms cache tied to Mac", Yamhill Valley NewsRegister, May 28, 2010.)

"Authorities aren’t sure yet of the legality of the King name, but say he was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975 as Hamid Malekpour. Regardless of the validity of the hunting licenses, the size and type of firearms and ammunition found in his car and storage unit are not consistent with recreational hunting, according to the affidavit." (ibed.)

Yeppers. Unthinkable that anyone raised in post-Revolution Iran might be a person of interest. It's so judgemental and all.