By: Kathryn Pentiuk | Southfield Sun | Published June 20, 2023
SOUTHFIELD — Officers responded to an apartment complex in the 20000 block of Charlton Square for a report of an armed robbery at 3:02 p.m. June 1.
The victim was a pizza delivery driver for a Southfield pizza restaurant. She explained to officers that she was making her delivery to the address provided in the order, but there was no response when she buzzed the designated apartment.
She then called the phone number provided with the order. A male answered and said he’d be right down to collect his order.
A few moments later, a man wearing jeans and a zip-up sweatshirt appeared at the door with cash in his hand. He asked the victim if she had change for a $100 bill. She told him that she did not, so he asked if the business accepted CashApp, and she replied that they did not.
The man then handed her a cash amount closer to his total.
The victim reached in her bag for to get change, and when she looked up, saw the man pointing a handgun at her. He told her to give him everything, and she told him that she needed her ID and cards out of her wallet. The suspect then told her that he did not care and tried to grab her bag from around her neck. When that didn’t work, he reached into her purse and grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash and her wallet. The suspect fled back into the apartment building in an unknown direction.
The victim returned to her car and called 911. The items taken in the robbery were a medium pizza, a brownie, cheesy garlic bread, the victim’s wallet containing her ID, credit and debit cards, and some cash that belonged to the pizza restaurant.
Southfield police detectives used the phone number to identify a suspect that the officers had encounters with previously and who matched the description provided by the victim. Officers were also able to find an address for the suspect.
The detectives set up surveillance near the suspect’s apartment building, and they were able to observe him getting into the backseat of a vehicle. Officers stopped the vehicle at the entrance of the complex. The suspect was taken into custody for armed robbery, and the two passengers were released at the scene. The stolen cash was found on the suspect’s person. A search warrant was obtained for the suspect’s residence, and since there was no response, a forced entry had to be conducted.
There was no one inside the apartment, but police located the half-eaten items from the pizza business along with the victim’s cards and ID. Upon further investigation, the officers located the clothing, shoes and a handgun, which was a CO2 pistol that the victim described.
The victim received an alert that an attempt was made to transfer funds from her debit card through CashApp, but it was declined. The investigation is ongoing.