Food Delivery Driver Robberies Prompts Warning From Pittsburgh Police
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Police have issued a warning to food delivery drivers in the city after a rash of robberies were reported in the Northview Heights neighborhood.
There have been four armed robberies of pizza delivery drivers in the past two weeks.
Two happened in the same block of Ames Street in Northview Heights on Friday and Monday night.
During Friday's incident, the robbers stole money and the key to the delivery driver's car. Then, on Monday, in addition to cash, the suspects got a necklace, a cell phone and the pizza.
That follows holdups last week on Sunset Avenue, which is less than two miles away.
"We want to get the message out to all pizza shops because they may have a radius of 10 miles or more for delivery," said Pittsburgh Police Zone 1 Commander Christopher Ragland.
Police offered some advice to drivers. Before delivering the food, don't just get a phone number from the customer, but call back and verify the number. Also, don't carry excess amounts of cash, and have the customer pre-pay for the order either online or by phone.
They say never show up to a house that looks vacant, and always be aware of your surroundings.
"If you do pull up to a house and there are pedestrians, be cautious and be suspicious. I don't wait for my delivery outside of my house, neither do most customers," Commander Ragland said.
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Police say they believe the four robberies are connected, and that the same two people are involved.
So far, no one has been injured.
