Aurelio’s Driver Robbed At Gunpoint In Chicago Heights

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — The owner of a south suburban Aurelio’s Pizza location is warning other delivery businesses in the area after he says two of his drivers have been robbed at gunpoint over the past three months.

Peter Pascale has owned the Aurelio’s franchise on Western Avenue in Chicago Heights for 35 years and has dealt with his drivers being robbed only about a handful of times. But the one that occurred Monday afternoon was particularly brazen, he says, since the offenders “left a trail” of evidence.

“They left two phone numbers that can be traced and live in the apartment complex we delivered to,” said Pascale, who says there has been a steady increase in such crimes in Chicago Heights over the past few decades.

The Monday robbery occurred around 3 p.m., “in broad daylight,” Pascale said and took place at an apartment complex on 16th Street on the west side of Chicago Road.

“They tried to get him (the delivery driver) to come inside but he was smart enough not to,” Pascale said. “They still stuck a gun in his face and got $80 and two Fiesta pizzas off of him.”

The thieves began by calling in the order for two Fiesta pizzas and providing a phone number to the phone girl at the restaurant that did not match what showed up on caller ID.

“The phone girl is new and did not know that we don’t comply with requests to give ‘change for a $100 bill’ and took the order anyway,” Pascale said. “Drivers really shouldn’t be carrying any more than $15 on them.”

The apartment building, located in the 400 block of 16th Street, is “not in a very good neighborhood” and is near the border of where the restaurant would not deliver to anyway.

The driver reported the incident to police, Pascale said. The suspects were described as three black men in their mid-20s.

Pascale was especially appalled by the robbers calling the restaurant back, after the robbery, and saying “he didn’t bring us our pop.”

“They acted like it was no big deal,” Pascale said. “Unbelievable.”

The robbery on 16th Street comes a couple months after another one that involved another Aurelio’s driver on Autumn Ridge Road in Steger.

“We want people to be weary of things like this and know that they do happen,” Pascale said. “Nowadays you have Uber… the girls here get their Dunkin’ Donuts delivered. Drivers everywhere need to know to be weary.”

Chicago Heights Police Chief Thomas Rogers did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the incident reported on Monday.

Photo via Google Maps screenshot