Grubhub rewards New York restaurant after employees call police for woman who pleaded for help in her order notes
Grubhub is rewarding a New York restaurant for contacting police after a woman used the delivery app to ask for help while she was allegedly being held hostage, CBS New York reports.
Chipper Truck Cafe in Yonkers received the order around 5 a.m. on June 19 for a delivery in the Bronx. In the order's additional notes section, the person ordering wrote, "please call the police... please don't make it obvious."
"People normally put notes like, 'Can you leave it in my driveway? Can I have extra syrup in my order? Can I have an extra soda?" But never something like this," employee Alicia Berme told CBS New York.
Co-owner Alice Bermejo told the station that employees immediately contacted her and her husband and they told them not to take any chances and to call police.
When officers arrived at the delivery location, they arrested 32-year-old Kemoy Royal, who is accused of abusing and raping a 24-year-old woman and holding her against her will. The victim was taken to the hospital following the arrest. Royal faces multiple charges, including rape, strangulation and unlawful imprisonment, according to CBS New York.
The woman told police she was able to add the cry for help to her order when Royal allowed her to use her phone.
For their role in the incident, Grubhub is sending the restaurant $5,000.
Royal was already wanted by authorities for another assault that took place on June 14, in which Royal is accused of sexually abusing a female neighbor who was visiting his apartment, CBS New York reports. That woman managed to escape and reported the alleged abuse the next day.
Bermejo said that after employees called police, they had no idea what had happened to the person who asked for help until they received a phone call the next day thanking them. But she is extremely proud of her employees for doing the right thing.
"We're just grateful that this girl was saved," Bermejo told the station. "This is the most important part of this whole entire story."