DURHAM, N.C. — Four unidentified men who are still on the loose beat and robbed Martin Eakes, co-founder of the $301 million Self-Help Credit Union and its affiliate Center For Responsible Lending, when he was leaving work on Nov. 24.
Eakes, who drove himself to the emergency room after the attack, sustained between 20 or 30 blows to his head and face and required 15 stitches for a gash in his forehead. He also faces outpatient surgery to help him recover from muscular injuries he sustained to his arm.
The four men attacked Eakes at about 8 p.m. in the lobby of a city-owned parking deck that Self-Help employees use, according to Self-Help spokesman David Beck. Beck said the CU's employees use both a flat, open parking lot and the parking deck when that fills up. Eakes later told a local paper that the attackers “beat the tar” out of him and said that the attack appeared “disproportionate.” Beck said that neither Self-Help nor Eakes believed the attack had anything to do with Eakes' work at the CU.
Eakes said it was the first time in over 28 years working in downturn Durham that he has ever been attacked or robbed. His beating has helped spur a conversation in the city about the security in city-owned parking facilities.
Eakes said it was clear to him that the men had been lying in wait for someone in the garage but that it was not clear they were looking for him. He was back at work the next day, Beck said.
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