FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sunday, Dec. 19, 2004
CONTACT: Leanora Minai
(919) 684-3215 (office); (919) 970-1964 (pager)
leanora.minai@duke.edu

DURHAM, N.C. -- Two Duke University police officers stopped an armed robbery Saturday night at the corner of Main and Ninth streets in Durham.

No one was injured during the incident at Wachovia’s walk-up ATM.

Cephas N. Teewia, 36, of Durham was arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery with a dangerous weapon. He was being held in jail on a $52,000 bond.

Duke officers Brandon Perry and Gary Beneville were on patrol at 10:44 p.m. when a motorist flagged them down on Main Street and told them a man was being robbed outside the bank.

The victim, a 55-year-old Durham resident, was standing at the ATM and heard rustling in the bushes, said Duke police Lt. Sara-Jane Raines.

“A man jumped out of the bushes, ran across the parking lot and demanded that the victim give him money,’’ Raines said.

The suspect ran when he saw the lights of the Duke officers’ squad car, Raines said. As the officers approached the suspect, the victim ran toward them and shouted that the suspect had a knife and tried to rob him.

Raines said the officers ordered the suspect, who brandished a knife, to stop and lay face down on the ground. The officers drew their guns in the “ready position,” pointing the weapons at the ground. The man surrendered without a struggle.

“A lot of police work is being in the right place at the right time,” Raines said. “But you have to be prepared, and these guys were prepared for that.”