Brandishing Gun and Robbing Delivery Drives Earns Slidell, LA Man 35 Years in Prison

Delivering pizza is a dangerous business. Not only are you often found driving around busy streets in incredibly dangerous weather, you’re effectively a walking bank and thus an easy target for robbers. Delivery drivers in some areas can make several hundred dollars a day and, depending on the company they work for, typically don’t have to deposit the money after each run. Sadly, for one teenage driver delivering pizza near Slidell, Lousiana, a career change might be in order after being robbed by a trio of ne’er do wells.

On a routine delivery in late December, a young delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza was confronted by three individuals – Rondell Delaney, Damion Christopher Stevenson, and Henry Earl Banks III – who demanded his money, pizzas, and cell phone. Delaney brandished a small handgun. After the robbery, the delivery driver ran back to the store and called the police.

For Delaney, it looks like the decision to rob someone at gunpoint was, as always, a poor one, as he was sentenced to thirty-five years at hard labor for his role in the crime. Arrested the day after, he and his accomplices were found with the cellphone and insulated pizza carrier. Banks, also 21, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of accessory after the fact to armed robbery in July, while Stevenson pleaded guilty as an accessory. Both received three years with two suspended in favor of probation.

While delivering pizza can seem like a fun way to make some easy, quick cash, the hidden dangers are often enough to make most people think twice. One only need to recall the story of Brian Douglas Wells, a 46-year old delivery driver who delivered a pizza to a transmission tower and was subsequently kidnapped, had a bomb strapped to his neck, and forced to rob banks for the anonymous captors. After a standoff with police, the bomb detonated, killing him instantly. While this is an extreme case, it highlights the dangers inherent in bringing food while carrying large sums of money to complete strangers in dark and dangerous areas.

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