IGNORE the middle-aged black man with white frizzy hair panhandling

UPDATE He's still on the streets :(

This man is often outside the Jimmy Johns on Green St asking people for change. He's middle-aged looking, often wears a jean-jacket and a white t-shirt, like he was today. Very frizzy white hair with black streaks in it, kind of like a mad scientist's. Doesn't ever seem to recognise faces. "Excuse me sir, can you spare some change?" is a common thing to hear.

I see him a lot. I will see him near Cowboy Monkey oftentimes on Monday nights (where I smoke cigars), and I will see him outside of my job on Neil St/Kirby St where he will ask people in the carpark for change. I usually ignore him. Shit got a bit more real tonight, though.

I was at the Bank Champaign ATM around 3:50am (an hour ago from this writing) (also don't go to the ATM in the early morning, right? Bad call), and he walks up to me, asks me for change. I tell him no, that whole spiel. He lies about how he's from Alabama and been in CU for 12 days (I've seen him since I moved here a couple years ago), and he just needs a few bucks - $10 - for a sleeping bag. I tell him I can't help him. (Sidenote, my conscience is clear as, I already donate to the food bank and I tutor ESL students, I'm not an unfeeling dickhead yknow?)

Anyway, he says well maybe he'll just check his own ATM card, and so I cancel my transaction and let him. He says no, I can go ahead. I say I insist. He says he left it at home. He asks me for money again, I tell him no, and he walks over to the bench across from the ATM.

I start my transaction again, and as the money is coming out, he's right up next to me, and asks me for money again, I say no, and then I strongly believe it was just his fingers in his jean-jacket in the shape of a gun, but what he says, fucking verbatim, is "I got a gun, give me your money."

I say "I don't believe you" and walk away, and meanwhile he's following me and says maybe ten seconds later "I was just kidding bro!".

Still following me, he comes up to my friends' car, and stares at us as we drive away.

I rang 911 and gave the description at 4:03 as per my phone, but I wanted to warn any UIUC people that if you see this man, he cannot be relied on to be a mere panhandler. Panhandling is annoying and aggressive panhandling sucks, but when a guy threatens you with a gun, fact or fiction, that's fucked up, and he should be taken seriously.

"But ninebreaker, you shouldn't have gone to the ATM at 3:50am". Correct. But careful not to blame the victim, either. I would do well to make better choices in future but no one deserves to be threatened like that. People who disagree will get downvoted.

Otherwise, uh, happy new semester guys! This is actually a really safe community for the most part (I've lived in Christchurch and Seoul and I've seen/heard more crime in those cities than I have here), but this man in particular is pervasive, although to my understanding not dangerous until tonight.

TL;DR - described man has aggressively panhandled me for years, but tonight he threatened me with a possibly make-believe gun; you should ignore this man because he is a common sight on the UIUC campus, although the police have been notified and will sort it out I'm sure.

edit: I confirmed in an email I sent to the police that this is the man http://www.mugshotsonline.com/illinois/champaign/richard-bernard-turner/40061262