Students robbed at gunpoint in dorm

Justin Baugh was playing PlayStation 3 in his unlocked Morrison Residence Hall room when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Upon lifting his gaze from the game, the UNC sophomore was looking down the barrel of a handgun.

Baugh was asked to stand in a line with four other students as his pockets were emptied a little after midnight Monday. It took 10 minutes, and then the two men left his room carrying money, video games, controllers and cell phones, he said.

Campus police responded just before 12:20 a.m. to a call from a student in the neighboring room. They arrested one man, but the other fled on foot.

Luther Oneal Allison, 24, of Hillsborough, was charged with armed robbery, assault by pointed gun and resisting arrest, said Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

He said police found no evidence of a weapon on Allison at the time of the arrest and could not confirm whether the other man, Michael DeAngelo Williamson, 26, had a gun as he fled on foot.

“My understanding is warrants have been sworn for that gentleman’s arrest,” Young said. Police are still searching for him.

Young said the University posted a summary of the incident on the AlertCarolina website rather than notify the campus via text or siren because the officer could not confirm that Williamson was armed and decided the suspect did not pose “an immediate or imminent threat to campus.”

The AlertCarolina website states that a siren will sound and texts will be sent to students if there is “an armed and dangerous person on or near campus.”

Young said students who were acquainted with the two men allowed them into the residence hall. He could not comment on the nature of the relationship between the suspects and the residents, saying it was under investigation.

“The situation last night was not specific to that warning because it was people who were acquainted with each other,” he said. “The suspects were allowed into the residence hall.”

Baugh said he did not recognize either of the two men.

On Feb. 22, Allison was convicted of resisting an officer, according to state records.

Williamson was convicted Feb. 15 on drug possession charges.

He also has a history of trespassing and other drug convictions, along with a conviction in 2005 for assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill, according to state records.

After the incident, residence hall officials posted signs asking students to lock their suites and not let strangers in the residence hall.

“Anybody can get into the building,” said Juan Cano, a suitemate of Baugh’s who was getting water at the time of the robbery.

Baugh said the incident has prompted him to take more precautions, like locking his door.

“Now it’s going to actually be something we look to do,” he said.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.