Despite risk of the job, workers say robbery of Ann Arbor pizza delivery driver was rare occurrence
The armed robbery of a Bell’s Pizza delivery man early Thursday was a rare occurrence but shows why being a food delivery driver is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country.
A 38-year-old Ypsilanti man, delivering a pizza for Bell’s, was robbed at about 1 a.m. Thursday in the 1000 block of Bluestem Lane in Ann Arbor, according to police. Sam Alzia, a manager at Bell’s, said the man was still shook up after having a gun pointed at his head by a robber while another man searched his pockets and stole cash.
Pizza delivery drivers take precautions when they are out, including not keeping a lot of cash on them.
Ann Arbor News file photo
“We’re usually very careful and don’t carry a lot of money on us,” he said. “If something happens, we tell them not to resist, your safety comes first.”
Bell’s usually isn’t delivering to dangerous neighborhoods, and Alzia said the driver was caught off guard because Bluestem Lane isn’t known as a tough area. He said the customer had called from a private phone line, so the driver couldn’t call the customer when he arrived on the street, as is normal practice.
Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said the driver got out of his car and was looking for the address when two people sitting on steps outside of a condominium waved at him and told him they were the customers. One of the robbers reached into a pocket to grab money, but instead pulled out a gun and pointed it at the delivery driver while the other suspect held the man’s arms back and went through his pockets, Bush said.
It’s an instance that shows why “drivers/sales workers and truck drivers” were ranked ninth on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics list of the most dangerous jobs in America in 2009. While still less dangerous than being a fisherman, lumberjack or a pilot, being a delivery driver was considered more dangerous than a construction worker, which was ranked 10th in the list.
A robbery involving a delivery driver still is a rare occurrence in Washtenaw County, with at least one other Ann Arbor pizzeria manager reporting it’s never happened to someone he’s known.
“It’s never happened here,” said Neroda Dallia, assistant manager at Happy’s Pizza, 600 S. Main St. “We tell our people to be safe when they get out and look around, but sometimes these guys come down from out of nowhere.”
That’s what happened to a delivery driver in Ypsilanti Township last year who was beaten and robbed by three men who are all now serving prison sentences.
Michael Brooks, Michael Heller and Robert Word approached the driver at 1:46 a.m. May 22, 2011, in the 200 block of Ashley Court. According to police, one of the three men pulled a gun on the driver and attempted to rob him. After he fought back, Brooks, Heller and Word punched and kicked him so severely that he had to be taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for treatment.
The three men entered pleas in their cases in December and were sentenced to prison in January. They are all are serving a maximum of 15 years in prison for unarmed robbery charges, according to court officials.
The suspects in Thursday's robbery are still at large. The robber with the gun was described as black, between 20 and 29 years old, 6-feet-2 inches tall, with thin build, wearing a black winter jacket and a knit cap. Bush said the delivery driver did not know if the person was a man or woman.
The man who searched the victim’s pockets was described as black, about 21 years old, 5-feet-10 inches tall, wearing a black baseball-type jacket and a light-colored baseball hat, Bush said.
While most deliveries go off without a hitch, the prospect of facing a dangerous circumstance is something drivers deal with on a regular basis, Alzia said.
“What can you do for this kind of thing?” he said.
“You don’t know bad people from good people. You take risks when you go out.”
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
davy
Wed, Apr 18, 2012 : 1:21 p.m.
Many "rich" people got that way by refusing to spend money, so it's no surprise they don't tip.
melissa
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 7:46 p.m.
I had my car emptied while delivering to arrowwood at about sunset. I worked for Marcos pizza on the north side of Ann arbor at the time. I also spent years delivering for cottage inn and pizza house. The money was excellent and put me thru college. Over the 6 years i did that i don't remember any one else getting robbed. Tip: affluent annarborites, you are notoriously lousy tippers. Less than a dollar is an insult. I always go with $5. They remember that and it will result in better service. PS: I'm a girl.
Cathy
Sun, Apr 15, 2012 : 8:36 p.m.
According to the MDOC web site, the earliest release dates for the punks who beat the pizza delivery driver in Ypsilanti last year are as follows: Michael Brooks: 11/21/2012 Michael Heller: N/A. He received probation and is walking the streets Robert Word: 6/22/2014 Sleep tight, citizens.
djm12652
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 8:58 p.m.
sorry, :they..." not the...darn long nails...time for a manicure!
djm12652
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 8:58 p.m.
Thanks, but I'm not worried...the pleaded to unarmed robbery so they're not a threat...right?
pegret
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 4:09 p.m.
Aww, come on...cut the writer some slack. Besides, maybe most of the local robbers are boycotting Domino's. Just because they're bad guys doesn't mean they have to have bad taste.
Cathy
Sun, Apr 15, 2012 : 8:30 p.m.
I'm going to hell for laughing at this.
Ron Granger
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 3:38 p.m.
I'd never rob a pizza dude. Except maybe Anthony's. I'd be willing to risk a little jail for a large Anthony's Gourtmet, if it was well-topped. But a warning to Zingerman's delivery staff. I'm watching for you. I'm waiting. I won't take cash, but your sandwiches are fair game!
John Henry
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 1:42 p.m.
I ran pizza delivery restaurants in A2 for about 20 years and during that time my drivers were involved in dozens of robberies, some very serious. I myself was the victim of an attack in the spring of 2004 at the Comfort Inn on State street. This article would have been more complete if the writer had taken the time to speak to drivers from the biggest delivery company in town (Pizza House) as well as the chains like Dominos and Cottage Inn.
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 3:05 p.m.
So a deadline on this type of story covers bad reporting. Got it.
Kyle Feldscher
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 2:07 p.m.
I did speak with Pizza House. They were unable to comment for the story because the delivery manager was not going to be in for several hours and I was working on deadline.
nvragain
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 1:18 p.m.
No disrespect to the manager at Bell's but Bluestem Lane is in one of the tougher areas of Ann Arbor. I delivered pizzas for a few years, as recently as December, and always made sure that I called first time customers back when delivering to that area(or any area) and if they did not have a working number or did not answer, they got no pizza. Just across the street is a nice place called Pine Lake, and although there may be some real fine people that reside there, there has also been lots of crime in the past. Not more than a solid sand wedge fro Pine Lake also sits a quaint community of Maple Meadows, follow the link for info about that wonderful place. http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/10/police_target_problems_at_mapl.html
Dog Guy
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.
Having the manager list your pizza delivery job as "cook" or "janitor" can help in mid-April.
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 12:28 p.m.
"Alzia said there have only been one or two other instances of Bell's delivery drivers being robbed while on the job in the past 30 years." And we can verify this statement how exactly? "It's never happened here," said Neroda Dallia, assistant manager at Happy's Pizza, 600 S. Main St. " How long has this place even been open? We didn't have time to contact the two major players in this town: Cottage Inn and Domino's? As usual, the story is incomplete.
Forever27
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 12:24 p.m.
I used to delivery pizzas in kalamazoo, during college. We did the north side of town, which was a pretty rough area. Most managers wouldn't even send us there after sunset. There were a couple of situations when i was on a delivery that I had to make a judgement call as to whether, or not, it was a safe enough place to go into. My roommate was attacked on one of his deliveries back then. As he walked up to the front door, someone came from around a tree next to the house and hit him in the head with a hard object. They stole the pizza and ran. he got lucky that he wasn't badly hurt and that all the person wanted was some free pizza. It just goes to show that the delivery drivers deal with some terrible stuff sometimes. tip them well.
A2James
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 10:34 a.m.
It can be a tough job. Approximately 16 years ago, I used to deliver pizzas for a regional chain pizza shop in Ann Arbor. The worst tippers were usually the ones in affluent neighborhoods (I remember getting a small handful of pennies at one house!), and the best tippers were the residents of the frat houses, especially during parties. I only did it for a few months, but never did I deal with violence, although there were quite a few "sketchy" deliveries. I feel the same way with delivery drivers as I do with waitstaff at restaurants: they deserve a decent tip, unless the service is beyond terrible. If you don't want to tip, the carry-out option is always there...
Hmm
Fri, Apr 13, 2012 : 4:17 p.m.
And there's a tip jar on the counter for when you go pick up! I personally do not put a tip in when I pick up food but apparently someone does since I always see $1 bills in the jars. I never understood tipping on a carryout?