Wichita police seeing increase in armed robberies of food delivery workers

People who deliver food in Wichita should be aware, Wichita police say.

The Wichita Police Department warned Wednesday that there had been a trend of pizza delivery employees being robbed at gunpoint. The Police Department said five had been reported since mid-October. On Thursday, during the police department’s daily briefing, Officer Charley Davidson said two more armed robberies had been reported just hours after a post by Wichita police on its Facebook page.

Davidson said both calls were to the same apartment complex in the 4900 block of East Harry. The first call came at 8 p.m. when a 47-year-old man delivering Chinese food was robbed of food and money. The man knocked on the door of the apartment and started returning to his vehicle after no one answered. He reported being robbed at gunpoint while heading back to his vehicle. The robber took off on foot.

At 11:50 p.m., officers were called again to the apartment complex by a 28-year-old Domino’s Pizza delivery driver. The driver said he was robbed by two men who had guns. The driver had delivered the pizza and was returning to his vehicle when the men came up demanding money. The driver gave the two men the money and they took off on foot.

The descriptions of the men were different from the earlier robbery, but Davidson said investigators are still working to see if they are related.

Davidson offered these tips for delivery drivers: be aware of suspicious people and vehicles, write down any kind of description you can if you see something suspicious, don’t carry more money than necessary and keep the doors locked on your vehicle

“If you feel something suspicious, see something suspicious don’t be afraid to call 911,” Davidson said.