Sheriff hunts for robbers of delivery-drivers

St. Johns County Sheriff David B. Shoar is asking Historic City News readers for their help in identifying and locating two criminals involved in a pair of armed robberies of delivery drivers during the evening on Monday.

The first victim, a 26 year-old pizza deliveryman for Hungry Howies, avoided being shot after he was hailed to stop in the road near the 400 block of North Clay Street between 9:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. According to the witness’s statement, the driver became suspicious when the house at the delivery address was dark; and, two black men wearing dark clothing and waving cell phones attempted to make him pull off the road.

When the driver handed the men the pizza through the window, one of them brandished a small handgun and demanded all of his money. Instead, the driver quickly fled the scene and called in the robbery.

The second victim, a 24 year-old deliveryman for Peking Chinese Restaurant, was robbed at gunpoint, of an undisclosed amount of cash, when he attempted a delivery in the 100 block of Collier Street shortly after 10:00 p.m.

According to the victim’s statement, when he arrived at the home, the resident said they had not placed an order for delivery. The driver called the phone number on the order, and was told to make the delivery to the side of the house. As the victim pulled into the driveway, a robber approached, brandished a handgun and demanded all of his money. When the driver handed over the cash, he observed another man fleeing the scene with the robber.

The men wanted in connection with these robberies are described as black and in their late teens to early 20’s, one is about 6′ tall the other is about 5’8″ tall. They were last seen wearing dark clothing and at least one is in possession of a handgun.

Anyone with information concerning these crimes is asked to contact the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office at (904) 824-8304 or by email to crimetips@sjso.org. You can remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a cash reward by calling CrimeStoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477).

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer