Pizza delivery drivers targeted three times on one block in north Chicago suburb
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- Police in Evanston said three pizza delivery drivers have been robbed on the same block just this month.
All the robberies happened in the 2200 block of Foster Street, near Hartney Avenue on Evanston's West Side, on Dec. 6 and Dec. 10.
Each time, when the drivers got out of their cars, they were robbed at gunpoint or knifepoint. The robbers just took the pizza without paying on one occasion, while they took the driver's personal property in others.
Evanston police said the first robbery happened around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, when a driver was delivering two pizzas on the block. He had been provided with an address that did not really exist, so he tried to find the right location, police said.
The driver contacted the person he thought was the customer, who advised the driver to wait and meet him. Two people walked up to the driver – one of them saying he was the customer who had made the order, police said.
The driver gave what he thought were the customers the price for the pizza and asked them to pay. Instead, a third person came up behind the driver and racked the side of a handgun – demanding the pizzas.
The robbers took the pizzas and left. Police did not indicate that the robbers took anything else in this case.
The second robbery happened at 10 p.m. the same evening, on the same block of Foster Street. This time, a driver came to a house and found a note on the door saying someone would meet him in a few minutes, police said.
Five people then came up to the driver. He was facing away from them when one of them pointed a gun at his back, police said.
The robbers took the pizzas this time too, but also took the driver's wallet, AirPods, and iPhone. They fled in different directions, police said.
The third robbery happened around 11:55 p.m. this past Sunday, Dec. 10, on the same block. This time, three people came up to a pizza delivery driver's car and announced a robbery at gunpoint.
The victim retreated into his vehicle, while one robber reached in and grabbed his phone, police said. Another of the robbers demanded the code to access the phone, police said. The victim fled in his car afterward.
Investigators said it is a good reminder for everyone to be aware of their surroundings.