SYCAMORE, OH (WTOL) - In the rural Wyandot County school district, it's not that strange for a state senator to drop by and give a speech to civics classes. What is strange however, is when the person who shows up is not who they say they are.
Sen. David Burke, R-OH, had agreed to speak to a class in January, but in late December, 18-year-old Izaha M. Akins walked into Mohawk High School.
"This person showed up in advance and early, days early, and said that the senator had fallen ill and that he was there to take his place and speak," said Superintendent Ken Ratliff,
He looked the part, he was well-dressed, well-spoken and told a believable story. He even showed up in a dealer vehicle with a personal driver.
"He went to Reineke Ford, which is owned by Gil Reineke, a state representative, and represented himself the same way and asked for a car and was able to obtain that," Ratliff said.
Akins presented his I.D. along with his phony story and was given a tour of the school and spoke to a class for about 45 minutes about advocacy. Then he left without any suspicion.
It wasn't until a few weeks later when Sen. Burke himself showed up for his scheduled speech that officials realized what had happened.
Which brings the question of 'Why'? Why go through all that with nothing to gain and no harm done? You can't help but see shades of Leo DiCaprio in "Catch Me if You Can" or "The Dark Knight" when Alfred Pennyworth said, "Some people just want to watch the world burn."
There was no clear motive and some citizens have legitimate concerns.
"What if he had a gun? What if he had drugs on him? I mean, it's really important that we do these background checks," said Hannah Beidelschies, a Sycamore resident.
It is a very strange story, but a great wake up call.
"We're gonna tighten that up. We're gonna be more diligent in verifying who people are, who they're there to see, are they there on time," said Ratliff. "And also, calling back to their office or the entity that they're there representing, verify that they are indeed with that agency."
