ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Two days after releasing surveillance video showing a robbery suspect attempting to force a woman into a pickup truck outside of a smoke shop in St. Augustine, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office sat down with the victim, allowing her to share her side of the traumatic event.
About two weeks ago, Emma Marine, 18, began her day normally and showed up for her shift at 206 Smoke Shop. While working, she noticed a man who she said came into the business, used the bathroom, and left.
She then noticed the same man come back a few moments later and use the bathroom again, adding that the man began looking around the store upon exiting the bathroom before going behind the counter.
According to Marine, he began “grabbing stuff, throwing it around, and started putting stuff in his pockets.” When she asked him if he was going to be paying for the items, he said he would.
St. Johns County deputies later identified the man as 31-year-old Michael Tundidor.
“Eventually, he tries going for the front door,” Marine recounted. “So, I block his way and he said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’”
At that moment, Marine said she froze up. She told deputies that Tundidor then proceeded to push her out of the way, place her in a chokehold, drag her to his pickup truck outside, and began trying to shove her in the vehicle.
When deputies asked her what actions she began to take to fight back, Marine replied, “I just kept fighting back and screaming.”
She said the thought of not fighting back never crossed her mind because the second she was grabbed, she was “terrified” of the potential danger she could’ve experienced had he managed to get her in his truck.
“By the time he had me, I wasn’t thinking straight at all,” she said. “All I could do was fight back.”
However, she cited fear of losing her job as the primary reason for jumping into action. According to Marine, about one week prior to Tundidor’s attempted theft, her sister, who also worked at the store, experienced a similar occurrence when someone stole something during her shift.
Marine said her boss threatened to fire her sister or take the losses out of her paycheck if another theft were to happen, and she was worried that she would be relegated to that fate had she let Tundidor walk out the door without trying to stop him.
She said that she and her sister no longer work at the smoke shop after her boss “let them go,” adding that there has been no contact between them since everything happened.
“[It’s] pretty upsetting,” she said. “He was my boss for a few months, everything was going good up until that incident, and then he completely stopped talking to either of us.”
News4JAX spoke to a manager at the store on Thursday, and he said Marine was not fired, but declined to answer any more questions and referred us to the owner.
Additionally, Marine said she had never gone through any form of personal protection training, but credited her parents with teaching her to always fight back when danger presents itself, a message she hopes to pass along to other women who may find themselves in a dangerous situation.
“I hope this can show other women and young females like myself that you can fight back, [it] doesn’t matter how small you are,” she said. “Never be quiet, always fight back no matter what, kick, scream, all of it, it will do justice.”
She also expressed an abundance of gratitude to the witness who helped her get away from Tundidor, saying she was “beyond thankful” to her for getting help as fast as she did.
The witness, Kelly Eason, spoke to News4JAX, saying she believes that she and Marine’s screaming are responsible for scaring Tundidor away.
“He grabbed her again and tried to get her back in the truck, and I believe because she wouldn’t quit fighting, and I was there screaming as well, that he got scared off. I was able to get her into my vehicle, and then we locked ourselves in the Subway until the police arrived,” Eason said.
Marine said physically, her injuries were limited to two cuts on her wrist; however, mentally, moving forward from the incident will require therapy and keeping her mind busy now that she no longer works at the smoke shop.
Finally, she offered a measured response when asked what her biggest takeaway was from the experience.
“[The] world is a scary place, [you] can never let your guard down, [and] always watch around you,” Marine said.
Tundidor was charged by SJSO detectives with kidnapping, robbery, and grand theft auto for the truck they say was stolen from a Jacksonville dealership. FWC added additional charges for driving under the influence and fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
SJSO also released the following safety advice from Women Against Violent Encounters (WAVE) instructors:
- Observe and be aware of your surroundings and people
- Know your “Danger Zone”, the distance between people that can jeopardize personal safety
- Trust your instincts and life experiences. If you think something is wrong, it usually is.
- Get away / Create distance
- Prepare for worst case scenario -mental rehearsal – learn from examples (like this incident)
- Attitude, mental commitment, and preparation are keys to success
