It was a pretty quiet night until about 12:30 when Mike told me I was next up for a delivery to 805 Longson. This is literally just about 3 blocks from our store, a very quiet and safe neighborhood. I wouldn't have had a 2nd thought, except for this newspaper article from 3 weeks ago.
A Dominos pizza driver was robbed at 12:30 on a Saturday night on a fake order to a vacant house on the same block. A man was sitting on the porch and pulled a knife, stealing the food, some cash, and the guys car!
What I didn't remember until I reread the article just now is that the Dominos driver had 2 pizzas and 2 subs. My order was also for 2 pizzas and 2 sandwiches.
Anyways, I immediately became cautious and called back the phone number the customer had given. This has always been our policy on new addresses after dark for the 4.5 years I have worked here, but it rarely happens. Anyways, the people that answerred the phone said that no, they did not order pizza.
My next call was to the Elyria Police Department. The dispatcher was not aware of the Dominos robbery and I'm not sure if she believed me or not, but she said to go to the address and call back and they would send an officer over.
My third call was to Dominos. The person I talked to thought that 805 Longson might indeed be the exact address from their robbery but he was not positive.
Not wanting to wait at the house, I called the Police again when I was ready to leave. Also, Manager Nick rode along with me. As we approached, we saw 2 people dressed in dark clothing, waiting in a vacant field behind a nearby school. We drove past the house and confirmed that it was totally dark with no cars in the driveway.
I didn't stop but kept driving through the neighborhood until we saw the police pull onto the street. By then, 1 of the guys from the vacant field was sitting on the front step of the house. He got up and ran around behind the house and through some yards when he saw the police. An officer pursued him but he got away.
Nick and I pointed out the other person over in the dark. It was a drunk woman, and she took offense to being called "another guy". She said she was a girl and walked towards us. The officer asked where she lived, she gave an address, and he told her to go there.
We waited around for about 5-10 minutes until the officers said we should go back. They did end up coming up to our store again after we closed to interview us, but as it was dark and the bad guys were dressed in dark hoodies, we really couldn't give a very good description.
I'm glad I'm safe ... any other driver we had would have gotten robbed. I'm bummed that the police didn't catch the guy though.
All in all I took 10 deliveries, drove 37 miles, worked 7 hours, and made $20 in tips. And I got a flat tire.
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4 comments:
holy crap.. bring mace with you. I do.. just incase.. geez.
Good job having those "feelers" out. In my opinion 90% of crimes like these if people were a little more aware of what's going on around them. Not that it's their responsibility, you shouldn't have to be like that.
I love the story!!!
I was in a similar situation myself, once. I am a female delivery driver. I took a delivery to a house which looked abandoned. When I got out of my car, I heard someone down the block yelling, "Hey, Pizza here! We're actually at THIS address." I thought it was strange, this house looked vacant as well. I pulled down the block to the end of the street, and get out. The young man (maybe 18/19) looked like someone kicked the SNOT out of him. His nose had cuts on the bridge, two black eyes and a fat lip. He also seemed to be a bit 'out of it' or maybe he was high, or on pain meds. I noted the house he came from had no lights, and a dark porch that was completely enclosed. He had trouble counting his money PLUS hooked me up with a $10 tip, and he trodded back inside, and I left.
It was almost close, (5 min till close) and he calls the store. I hear giggling in the background and he tells me that he has no towels - and he has pizza all over him, and garlic butter all over him. He insists that we did not bring him any napkins, plates or plastic silverware (none of which come standard with our orders, but are available upon request, which he did not.) He asked if I could please swing by after the store closes to bring him some, and ensures me he would REALLY appreciate it. My gut said it was a bad idea, so I told him we were closed and I was off for the night, and there was nothing I could do for him. He tried hard to convince me, "please, I really need the napkins at least - just come back to the house after work and you saw where I went inside. Just go in the porch and knock on the door, and everything will be ok."
I'm glad I didn't go back, I've driven past the house since - and it's still empty. No curtains, no lights ever on, or cars on or near the property. I still question it, though... what if something had happened during the delivery...
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