A strange incident in the city has left police with their hands tied — the suspect is unknown and the victim is unwilling to cooperate.
On Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m., officers of the Elizabethton Police Department were dispatched to Sycamore Shoals Hospital on a report of an assault at Holiday Market on West G Street.
In his report, EPD Officer James Sexton said that when he arrived at the hospital he made contact with the victim, who he said refused to identify himself.
“The male subject had a contusion on his forehead and what appeared to be a bite mark on his left eye,” Sexton said in the report. “The subject stated he was purchasing a drink from the drink machine around (9 p.m.) when a male subject appeared and punched him in the face. The two then fell to the ground at which time the suspect bit the victim on the eye. The bite broke skin and caused bleeding.”
The injured man described the assailant as being in his twenties, wearing a red shirt and being approximately 5’11” to 6” tall. The man also reported to police that the assailant appeared dirty and wet and that he thought the man was trying to rob him.
“I explained to the victim the importance of cooperating and filing a report as a victim but he refused,” said Sexton in the report.
EPD Capt. Joy Markland, who heads the Criminal Investigation Division, noted on the report that the case is not being investigated further “due to lack of cooperation and unknown identity of the victim.”