Speaking of Berwyn - I was born, grew up and went to school from the next block to this incident. This article is on the Sub Life web page. All the comments that follow talk about North Berwyn becoming a Sec. Eight ghetto and a haven for the worst kind of thugs and dopers. If we create high-density condos along Harlem and/or Ogden, people fleeing that and wanting better schools for their kids will come into Riverside, no doubt. And since they will need rear parking auto traffic will be turning into and out of every street all the way to at least Delaplaine. I post this becuse I am sure that Trustee Smith will be thumping his law and order and "Support Your Local Police" drum throughout the campaign. It is really better not to create the problems rather than pay to fix them. Anyway, this is a sad commentary...
"$5K reward offered after pizza man beaten
By Kristen Zambo, kzambo@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Wed Dec 17, 2008, 03:38 PM CST
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Berwyn, IL -
As second days on the job go, this one was pretty lousy for a 21-year-old pizza delivery man beaten with two-by-fours before he was mugged.
The attack took place at about 10 p.m. Sunday at an apartment complex in the 1900 block of Euclid Avenue in Berwyn. The Domino's Pizza driver, a married father of two from Brookfield, had just stepped out of his car and was walking to the front of the complex to make a delivery when two men attacked, said Ron Enstrom, area supervisor for Domino's.
“They hit him with a two-by-four in the face,— Enstrom said in a Life Newspaper interview. “Twice in the head, and then they started to hit him in the arm.—
A resident in a first-floor apartment heard the commotion and began yelling, Enstrom said, and soon the resident's wife was yelling at the attackers, too. She called the police.
“Once the people started yelling, that's when the attackers took off,— Enstrom said.
The men fled with two large pizzas and a 10-piece side order of hot wings —“ exactly what investigators and Enstrom believe they ordered. The attackers were waiting in the darkened gangway alongside the building to strike, Berwyn Police Chief William Kushner said Wednesday.
Domino's has a policy not to take delivery orders called in on pay phones. But a new employee took that order and did not know the rule, he said.
“It just happened that this one time fell through the cracks,— Enstrom said.
The order was placed shortly after 9:30 p.m. from a pay phone at 6714 Cermak Road, near a mini mart, Enstrom and Kushner said.
The driver was treated Sunday and released from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Enstrom said. The driver suffered no major injuries, receiving bruises from the attack.
“He's exceptionally lucky he's not more injured than he is,— Kushner said.
“That was his second day on the job,— Enstrom said. “He's a sport, though. He wants to come back. Isn't that crazy? He's taken a week off because his arm hurts.—
Domino's is offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the offenders.
“It's about the violence of the crime,— Enstrom said of why Domino's is offering a reward. “These guys started beating him.—
The attack “shows you how low some people can be,— Kushner said. Cook County prosecutors may charge the men with armed robbery, which is a Class X felony, and possibly armed violence, he added.
“The offenders are looking at probably six years (in prison) on the bottom if we can prosecute them,— Kushner said.
The suspects are described as two black men between 19 and 21 years old. They are listed as tall, with thin builds, both wearing dark clothing. Kushner said the one suspect was wearing a dark coat with gold trim on the jacket's sleeves and had fur trim on the coat's hood.
With the dour economy and workers facing layoffs and home foreclosures, Enstrom said he hopes the allure of the cash reward will help witnesses come forward and provide tips for police.
“It's just ridiculous for the pure violence of it,— he said. “They took a two-by-four to a guy's face. He was just doing his job. That's just nonsense violence.—
Kushner said that he had not heard of any tips coming in by Wednesday.
He praised the couple who called police during the attack Sunday.
“We need more people to be vigilant when they see people lurking in gangways and alleys. Call 911,— he said. “We can help cut down on these robberies.—
Domino's has delivered to the apartment building before without any incidents.
After 20 years in the business, Enstrom said he has been robbed before at gunpoint. But Sunday night's attack was the first armed robbery since the restaurant at 6613 Cermak Road, Berwyn, opened 11 years ago.
Reward offer
Domino's is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the men who jumped the driver. Anyone with information is asked to call Berwyn Police at (708) 795-5600 and ask for the detective bureau."
Posted Friday Dec 19, 2008 09:06
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