By Paul Preston
DUSK- The official Chapel Hill Police Records blotter published last week included a report of assault and self defense at the ATMs behind Davis on Raleigh Road.
Just past midnight, Emmanuel Tuggert, a UNC senior, was making a withdrawal from his account for $40 to buy groceries for the week when a man in his thirties with baggy clothes and a beard accosted him, demanding the money that was just withdrawn.
When the unidentified man became aggressive and made to attack Tuggert, the student panicked and desperately defended himself by beating the assailant off. "I wasn't sure what to do," a flustered Tuggert told police reporters after the crime, "Here's this guy coming at me, and I thought I might die, so I sort of had to make a snap decision."
Apparently, Tuggert's response was effective, as it stopped the man in his tracks. "At first he looked totally surprised, like he never would have expected it. I mean, I wasn't armed at all, so he may have thought I would have just surrendered, but even if I have to do it bare-handed, I can be forced to retaliate in a desperate situation.
"At first he looked surprised, then confused, then he just sort of shrugged and took it like a man. He didn't move away or anything while I was there pounding away - I mean, my fists were really flying! Well, eventually his eyes started bulging and he did a little squirming around, then got this sort of dizzy, embarrassed look on his face before just wandering away into the night.
"To tell the truth," Tuggert confessed, wiping his brow with a sigh, "I'm pretty glad I decided to put up a fight! I kept my money, and I got away safe!"
The Chapel Hill Police Department has released a description of the man wanted for attempted assault and theft. The alleged assailant is roughly 6 feet tall with brown hair, a shaggy beard, baggy clothes, and a smug expression. He walks with a slight limp.
Tuggert requested that anyone who has contact with the assailant give him "a swift kick in the balls."