SOUTH BEND—A South Bend man arrested on suspicion of robbing a pizza delivery driver last week could be responsible for several more robberies over the past couple months in the Keller Park neighborhood, police say.
Trevonn Austin, 18, is accused of robbing a Pizza Hut employee about 6:30 p.m. Friday in the 1100 block of Beale Street—the fourth such robbery in less than two months in the block.
The pizza driver told police that Austin, who was holding a gun, came up be-hind him outside a home he was called to and took his money and pizzas before heading south.
Police were able to follow footprints from the robbery scene to a home directly across the street on Beale, where they reportedly found and arrested Austin after a positive identification was made from the driver.
Austin was charged with armed robbery, a class B felony, and had his first court hearing Monday. His bond has been set at $5,000 cash.
The neighborhood, re-ferred to as the “Hollow” area of Keller Park, also had six robberies between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18. Three of those robberies occurred in the 1100 block of Beale Street, including two addi-tional pizza delivery drivers.
Police say they have connected Austin, through items seized from his house, to a Dec. 15 robbery in the 1000 block of Roosevelt Street.
Justin Davis, 22, was arrested and charged shortly after the Dec. 18 robbery on Beale Street after officers found him and another man walking down a nearby street.
Police questioned the man Davis was with but did not arrest him. It is unclear if he was with Austin at the time, police say.
Ironically, back in August 2007, a Pizza Hut driver also was robbed in the 1100 block of Beale by two men. It is unclear if that case could be related in any way.
The delivery driver in the most recent robbery on Friday told police he has delivered to the address in the past. He told police that his store saves records of deliveries, but only phone numbers are saved and not addresses.
The phone number used to call in the pizza order Friday was not in the system, according to a police report.
Staff writer Tom Moor:
tmoor@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6234
Trevonn Austin, 18, is accused of robbing a Pizza Hut employee about 6:30 p.m. Friday in the 1100 block of Beale Street—the fourth such robbery in less than two months in the block.
The pizza driver told police that Austin, who was holding a gun, came up be-hind him outside a home he was called to and took his money and pizzas before heading south.
Police were able to follow footprints from the robbery scene to a home directly across the street on Beale, where they reportedly found and arrested Austin after a positive identification was made from the driver.
Austin was charged with armed robbery, a class B felony, and had his first court hearing Monday. His bond has been set at $5,000 cash.
The neighborhood, re-ferred to as the “Hollow” area of Keller Park, also had six robberies between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18. Three of those robberies occurred in the 1100 block of Beale Street, including two addi-tional pizza delivery drivers.
Police say they have connected Austin, through items seized from his house, to a Dec. 15 robbery in the 1000 block of Roosevelt Street.
Justin Davis, 22, was arrested and charged shortly after the Dec. 18 robbery on Beale Street after officers found him and another man walking down a nearby street.
Police questioned the man Davis was with but did not arrest him. It is unclear if he was with Austin at the time, police say.
Ironically, back in August 2007, a Pizza Hut driver also was robbed in the 1100 block of Beale by two men. It is unclear if that case could be related in any way.
The delivery driver in the most recent robbery on Friday told police he has delivered to the address in the past. He told police that his store saves records of deliveries, but only phone numbers are saved and not addresses.
The phone number used to call in the pizza order Friday was not in the system, according to a police report.
Staff writer Tom Moor:
tmoor@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6234
