Suspect's 'pizza man robbery' plot unravels over missed detail
(Polk County Sheriff's Office)
LAKELAND (FOX 13) - A Bay Area man has been arrested after his elaborate plot to rob a pizza delivery man completely unraveled over the weekend- all because of one small, yet crucial detail.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, everything started off as 23-year-old Ronnie Dougherty had planned Sunday night.
They say he called a local Hungry Howie’s Pizza restaurant, requested a delivery to his “friend’s” house, and then told the delivery person to call his number upon arrival.
He’d meet the driver out front, he said.
But instead of meeting the driver to accept a pizza, deputies say he showed up with a covering over his face and a weapon pointed in the driver’s direction.
He wasn’t going to give money to the driver. The driver, as Dougherty planned, was going to hand over all his money.
Investigators say the driver did exactly as he was told, and then Dougherty took off.
But he didn’t get far, deputies say, before investigators were able to track him down. That’s because the number he used to call in the fake order was actually the same number he used to place a legitimate order in the past.
Deputies say they found the address associated with the account and then- sure enough- they found Dougherty, too.
Along with a BB gun that looked like a semi-automatic handgun, officials say Dougherty had two cell phones with the Hungry Howie’s number on them, clothes that matched the victim's description and - if that wasn't enough- they say he also had the stolen money.
He later confessed, and deputies hauled him off to the Polk County Jail. He's since been charged with robbery with a fire arm.