Pizza Delivery Man Robbed At Gunpoint

Tuesday, March 20th 2007, 5:01 pm

By: News On 6

A pizza delivery man is lucky to be alive Tuesday, after being robbed at gunpoint. He handed over the money, but the robber still shot at him. The victim, Ronald, did everything the robber asked except hand over his wedding ring. That, he refused to do and News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports it nearly cost him his life.

Ron has a new appreciation for the time he has with his wife and loved ones. He was delivering pizzas at an east Tulsa apartment complex Saturday afternoon around 4:30 when he was robbed. The man demanded money, so Ron pulled it out of his pocket and threw it on the ground. The robber then wanted Ron's wallet and wedding ring and rather than hand it over, Ron tried to get out of there.

"I jumped in the car and started to back out quick,â€ said Ron. â€œHe said, where you going? Boom and shot at me."

The window shattered and Ron feared he'd been hit, but as it turns out, the bullet lodged in the door of his Blazer. When the cops pulled out the slug, they said it was a 357.

"Obviously, it's amazing it's not a homicide, just a robbery," said Tulsa Police Officer Scott Walton.

"I had my head ducked when I was backing up so he was obviously shooting at my head and trying to kill me over that amount of money,â€ said Ron. â€œIt was a miracle. God was looking out for me."

Ron says Papa Johns has a policy not to deliver to some apartment complexes after dark, but this robbery and shooting happened in broad daylight. He says every time he closes his eyes he can see two things, the gun go off and the robber's face. He says there was no way he was going to give up his wedding ring.

"It is very sacred to me,â€ he said. â€œI don't mind giving up the money they have insurance on, but if he wants to take what's personally mine and sacred, he'll just have to kill me for it."

Police are looking for a black man around 20 years old, five feet seven. He wore his hair in two afro puffs. He left in a blue or silver four-door car, maybe an Olds or a Buick, with three other men. Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers at 596-COPS and earn a cash reward.

Police say to hand over whatever a robber demands, but in this case the man is alive and he still has his wedding ring.