A man claiming to be an agent specializing in vehicle repossession is wanted for questioning by UTM Public Safety after a student complained that the supposed repossession agent was attempting to enter his car.

Senior Will Hammond, 28, of Martin, saw the suspicious man at about 2 p.m. last Monday as Hammond was walking to his vehicle parked in the library lot. The suspicious man was trying to enter Hammond’s car using a key on a yellow ring. Hammond approached the man and asked what he was doing, and the man replied that he was going to repossess the vehicle for unpaid debt. Hammond then told the man that he must be mistaken or is at the wrong vehicle. The wanted individual then told Hammond that he was a police officer.

The man then proceeded to flash a badge that Hammond claims resembled that of a sheriff’s officer. The man then pulled back his coat to reveal a holstered black gun that Hammond said resembled a .45-caliber handgun.

The wanted man then got into a green Chevy Blazer with dark tinted windows and drove south on Mt. Pelia Rd. Hammond then followed the vehicle into Lot 8 by Ellington Hall. The man rolled down his window and asked Hammond if he had a problem and told Hammond that the vehicle he was attempting to repossess belongs to a female who works at Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Hammond then drove away and said that he does not know anyone who works at the bookstore.

Hammond also said a female got into the Blazer while he was confronting the suspect. He said the female ran out from the lobby of McCord Hall.

Accepted practice is that repossession agents typically inform Public Safety and have appropriate documentation when coming on campus, but this individual did not file any paperwork with Public Safety.

Officers were unable to locate the man, but Public Safety says they have sent out information to other local law enforcement agencies hoping to find the man.

“We have a few leads, but we don’t really have anything solid yet,” said Richard Hatler, Public Safety director. Hatler said he does not yet know if charges will be filed, citing incomplete information, which he hopes to ascertain from interviewing the suspect.

Hammond said, “If cops at UTM want to pursue (charges), they can.”

Hammond described the suspicious individual as an African-American male between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall. Hammond said the suspect appeared to weigh between 185 and 200 pounds.