Suspect in failed robbery hospitalized
Chanello’s to make delivery changes

By Stephanie Barrett Daily Press

Published: Sunday, March 25, 2001

NEWPORT NEWS – A man who tried to rob a pizza-delivery driver was in
serious condition at Riverside Regional Medical Center on Saturday after
the driver shot him, Newport News police said.

The shooting occurred about 10:35 p.m. Friday in the 1300 block of 22nd
Street. The suspect was attempting to rob a Chanello’s Pizza driver at
gunpoint, Newport News police spokeswoman Dierdre Raines said. The driver
was delivering a pizza from Chanello’s Kecoughtan Road location. A manager
at that store said the situation was a set-up.

No charges had been filed as of Saturday. Police released no names, and
Raines said the incident was still under investigation.

The Chanello’s manager said it was against company policy to carry a gun.
“Our drivers are on guard at all times,” the manager said. They are robbed
frequently, he said.

“In this case, the driver happened to have a gun and felt threatened,” he
said.

Because of the incident, the manager said, his store wouldn’t deliver
pizzas in the downtown area at least on Saturday. He said that meant that
no deliveries were going to areas past Buxton Avenue.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time people call here, it’s for an actual
delivery,” the manager said.

He said it’s unfortunate that his store would have to tell some people that
it wouldn’t deliver to them.

He also said there would be a review to decide whether to stop delivering
in that area for a longer period.

In 1999, a Chanello’s Pizza manager violated the company’s no-gun policy by
shooting and killing an armed robber.

The manager was from the Chanello’s in the Francisco Village shopping
center in the 10000 block of Jefferson Avenue.

That manager gained the support of nationally syndicated radio talk-show
host Ken Hamblin of WNIS-AM 790, who bills himself as the “Black Avenger.”

The manager was shot in the left shoulder and arm. Police said he acted in
self-defense and wasn’t charged.

It was reported that the manager wouldn’t be reprimanded, though the
company still stood by its policy.