49 Crime Tracker: Pizza delivery driver robbed twice in three days
4:57 p.m. Monday, March 17, 2008
A pizza delivery driver came under attack by hungry robbers twice this weekend.
The driver has a big black eye after being robbed Friday night, then again last night, by two different groups of people.
On Sunday night, the man was robbed near 21st and Fairlawn. Two men came up to him; one had a pipe.
The same man was robbed Friday night near 29th and Gage, where robbers knocked him to the ground.
On March 9, a different pizza delivery driver was robbed at 17th and Clay, where a robber used tree sticks as a weapon.
Each time the robbers got away with two kinds of dough, pizza and money.
Current stats
Our 49 News Crime Tracker found there have been 13 business robberies reported in Topeka this year, compared to 14 during the same time period last year.
Police said delivery drivers are robbed frequently. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows they have the fifth most dangerous job in America.
Police said the robberies in Topeka seem to come in spurts and officers are responding.
"We’re always out there looking," said Lt. Dean McWilliams, Topeka Police. "When they start happening, we definitely give it a lot more attention."
In the past, police have offered training to delivery drivers.
"I go into harm’s way every time I deliver a pizza," said Don Rust, a Domino’s Pizza driver. "Being able to learn how to recognize dangerous situations or things I need to avoid, it just keeps me safer."
Some drivers have also been trained to help with pizza patrols, by notifying police of suspicious activity while out and about.
The three most recent pizza delivery robberies haven’t been connected, police said. Police ask if you see a delivery driver and you see something suspicious, call 911 right away.
The Pizza Hut delivery driver, who was hit twice over the weekend, said he’s looking for a new job.
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