Robbers attacked three different pizza deliverers within about 40 minutes early Monday, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman.
The incidents were reported between 12:56 and 1:35 a.m.
One of the drivers, a 43-year-old man who works for Alpha Delta Pizza, managed to get away without turning over his money or pie.
“He told the officer he’d been trying to find the Pine Street address given to him for his delivery but couldn’t find it. He pulled over on the two-hundred block. He said three men approached him as he sat in his car. One said he’d ordered the pizza but was short a few dollars. He said as he phoned his boss to get the okay, one of the men opened the car door and tried snatching the pizza. Another went for his wallet which was in view on the dashboard. The third brandished a handgun and demanded his money,” Hartman wrote in a release. “The delivery man hit the gas and took off. The pizza and wallet remained with him. Although he struck a parked car during his escape, he made it unharmed.”
Two attackers reportedly mugged a 47-year-old driver for Grand Avenue’s USA 1 Pizza, as he walked on Wolcott Street to deliver an order. A knife-wielding man in a mask demanded his money, then, with an accomplice, attacked him though “not with the knife”. Hartman depicted the man’s injuries as “not serious enough for a hospital visit.”
The third attack occurred on Stevens Street, where a 29-year-old driver was delivering a pizza to a customer he’d served in the past. “He said as he exchanged the pizza for cash, another man, armed with a gun, approached him from behind. The victim gave up the cash he had on him. The two robbers got into the victim’s car,” Hartman wrote. “The victim – not eager to see his car disappear, got into the back seat. The robbers told him to get out. The victim told the officers he suspected his car would be close to the location he’d previously delivered pizza to the recognizable customer. He was right” — the car was found at Wintergreen Avenue and Level Street.
Police don’t know yet if all three robberies are related, Hartman said. The attackers remain at large.
Unloaded Handgun Found At School
An employee at Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy on Columbus Avenue reported finding a handgun before the school day began Monday morning. It was unloaded and didn’t have its magazine. Police are investigating.
