[Dyre Straits]

For the past six months I've been moonlighting several nights a week making pizza deliveries for a very-well known pizza company.

This past Saturday night, about 11:30, I got an order for a NEW CUSTOMER who wanted pizza and 2 litre beverage delivered to one of the local gated apartment complexes nearby.

Well, there was no gate code on the ticket, so I had the manager in charge to call and get it. (I'm nearly deaf, as many of you know, and couldn't make the call myself.) The party that answered said they had just moved in and didn't have the code but would meet me at the gate.

So, off I went.

When I got to the gate I didn't see anyone around that appeared to be interested in pizza. I pulled up to the visitor's Call Box and waited for a little bit to see if someone would show up. No one did, so I called the phone number that was on the ticket. (Even though I am nearly deaf, I can normally tell when the phone is ringing and then when someone answers.) Well, someone DID answer and I announced myself by using the name of the pizza company I work for. The gate opened and I proceeded to the apartment building where their apartment was located.

Well, one thing that caught my attention while at the gate was that there were two young men dressed in dark clothes and they were each carrying a long stick. They had something on their head that looked like a knit cap. They started walking across the entrance to the apartments as the gate opened.

After I parked the van I drive, I carried the order down the steps to a 'terrace level' apartment. This is like a basement apartment and you can't see them from the parking lot.

When I knocked at the door, no one answered. However, I saw these same two guys (that had been near the entrance) as they walked across the front yard toward the parking lot. They were taking their stick and beating it into their free hand in unison. I got concerned about my van as it was still running out front. I walked part of the way up the steps to make sure no one was around the van. Then I went back down and knocked twice more on the door. When no one answered after this, I felt something was wrong and headed or the van.

As I reached the front of the building's entrance, one of those two boys swung his stick at me and hit me across the upper chest and shoulder. He had a ski mask pulled down over his face. I think it surprised him that I wasn't knocked down on the first blow. As it was, I kept blocking his attempts to hit me in the head with the stick by trying to lock it under my arm when it would hit me.

The long and short of it is, we ended up near my van when I attempted to make a run for it. At this point, I didn't know where the 2nd boy was as he never got involved in the fighting. Later, I realized he must have been going around the building in an attempt for the two of them to trap me downstairs. I apparently thwarted their little party when I went for the van sooner than they expected me to.

Anyway, at one point the one I was tussling with tried to grab my head from behind and break my neck. At this point, I knew he was dead serious and was able to get him off balance. He started falling backwards and tripped over a nearby curb. That was my chance to get in my van and get out of there!

I made it back to the store where the police were called. A report has been filed, and I spent the rest of the night at the hospital having X-rays, CT-Scan, and treatment for several abrasions. Most of these were from scrambling on the hard pavement. However, at least a couple of the blows from the stick left their marks, too.

I found out today that the complex has a security camera at the gate. Also, the phone number that was used is a 'real' phone number. So, hopefully, information from these sources will enable the authorities to trace the culprits and take them into custody.

As for me, I'm quite sore in places where I'd forgotten I had places. I have a couple of VERY deep gouges in my left elbow that have me more concerned than any of the other areas. So, I'll be on the mend for quite some time.

I'm very thankful that I didn't have to try to take on the both of them. That would have most likely brought about an outcome I have no intention of dwelling upon.

So, any of you who may have a delivery job, PLEASE, watch your backs!

I'll keep you all posted on any developments.

[Asmoday]

Damn man!! Ihope you're ok....and i also hope those thugs get caught. They deserve a good beating before thrown in jail

[jsx[ifl]]

jesus dude that sounds so bad...but on the other hand WOOOOOO dyre show those bastards itll take more then a big stick to take you. Ask for the secure cam so we can upload it here and display it as a "dont mess with DH" message

[Ev!L-aLphA]

holy crap! thank god nothing worse happened to you man!

im really thankful u got out okay!
i hope all of the wounds and sores go away as soon as possible man!

nathan

[EcPercy]

WOW.. It's nice to see that you made it out ok. You may want to look into a compact firearm or a can of pepper spray.

[mainman]

HOLLY F*CK!!! Thats some scary sh*t, im really happy your ok bud, i hope the guys are caught and get the beating they deserve..

[Falstaff]

shoot the sons of female dogs. I used to get bullied when I was a kid at Tucson High, and finally I brought a small 22 caliber gun with me to school. I let it be known to the Cholos and the stone cold G's that I would use if I had to, white kids were bullied or beaten quite alot there. Most of the crime that occured was disproportionately among the lower income people that were bussed over from the west side of town to meet the required quota. We all learned quickly that we had to be proactive if we were white kids, we stuck together and formed a unit of cool kids that got along with the predominently mellow kids in school. But the gangs were tough, La Raza and the crips and bloods were not yet really represented but they were there. I shudder when I think now of how we would threaten groups of kids that chased us. We stood our ground but they could easily have shot us, so guns arent the answer for sure. but a good camera on the truck would help or a body camera or a short wave radio or better yet a good cell phone to call from and report your position. I for one prefer to travel in pairs, even here in town we have robberies. Most of the Pizza venders wont deliver to some parts of town because of the racial tensions or high incidence of crime. We have huge problems with meth labs and kids steal just enough to score a enough for a week then they steal again. Lots of would be robbers are beaten or shot by their victims too. Its hard man. I fear for my parents, so we got Dad a 9 millimeter pistol that mom could shoot too. Home invasions are a problem here too, old people are pistol whipped and robbed at gun point for just a few dollars. This town can be tough, and in our neighborhood the folks here stick together. I wish I could help ya, but a pickup truck with men in and with baseball bats might attract some attention in your town.

FRONTIER JUSTICE IS NOT DEAD

[tek]

Damn dude! Your a tough bastard! Good job!

[GutterPunk]

man thats nuts glad your okay! i hope they catch those buttheads

[Shinjikun]

Damn I'm glad you made it out of that situation safe. Next time choke them with the pizza or if it's blazingly hot slam it into their faces! Damn scum...

[Nacht]

sorry to hear about that....it must've been a pretty shaky experience. out of curiousity...do you still deliver pizzas?

[pr0digal jenius]

sounds like you had a rough night...back before we started goin out some guy tried to get my girlfriend to ride home with him in the parking lot one night and followed her all the way back to the building....so i fully understand people's fear of being alone at night


bets fo luck on all your scannigns and tests!

[drakesteakn]

wow, glad to here ur ok. ur really lucky

[Nicky-chan]

Man that sounds tuff. Next time you go into a tight complex bring a bat with you, or better yet a tranqulizer rifle on your back. Your customers may be a little intimidated but ud be safe and thats what madders. =) Hope they get caught and thrown in jail or even prison for attempting to kill.

[Dom]

Damn, that's one hell of a story. Glad you are okay for the most part.

Feel better and be safe.

[edperks]

I am sad to hear about what happened!! But I am also glad to hear you made it out alive, you are lucky dude! god bless and hope you heal up soon!!

[Geminiwave]

damn man. I'm so sorry for that.

We got out of my home town before it got too bad for me. My oldest brother had a hard time there. He ended up getting togeather with a group of black kids cause he was one of the few white kids that wasnt overty racist(or indeed racist at all) and he stuck with them. Thats the only way he survived. They treated him like family which was good. I'm not as hardcore as he was and none of my brothers are either. Its definatly good we got out.

glad you made it alright man. We dont want to lose anymore DH members.

[BWX]

Wow- you are lucky, glad you made it out of that one alive.

[Vampyromaniac]

jeez! glad you're relatively OK, man!

[dj_stick]

i hope you're ok

[Al_Vampyre]

Good to know you're OK mate, hope the injuries heal up soon

[WisMerHill]

Man,... that really blows.... glad to hear your doing ok considering.

[Dyre Straits]

Hey, all,

Thanks for the good wishes and replies.

I just left the doctor's office a little bit ago. He gave me clearance to go back to work without restrictions.

The worst damage is to my left elbow. The injury there is really deep and I think I may have ground it into the pavement trying to get onto my feet at one point.

Anyway, I'm hoping they get these guys real soon.

[Geminiwave]

yeah tell us more as the details unfold.

NOBODY MESSES WITH DH MEMBERS!

[Frodo301]

Good to hear that you are doing ok. I delivered pizza as a 2nd job about 10 years ago in a fairly bad part of town and know your pain. Never actually was robbed by force but most of the other drivers who had been with the company had it happen at one time or another. I was just lucky I guess. Our mgr was cool and if you got a funky feeling or saw something out of place or if no one was there to greet you we got out quickly. The final straw for me was having a whore (yes we delivered in the red light district ) break into my car steal the remaining pizzas and soda and then as she got out she puked all over the seats of my brand new car. Never failed, one of her other "co-workers" who was probably upset she was not invited to the pizza feast snitched. The puke smelled of cheap wine, I remeber driving the whole way back to the store with my head stuck out a window about puking myself. I quit that night, after the mgr paid me to have my car cleaned. When I look back it was almost comical, in a werid sort of way but not at that moment. Hope this little story of my experience helps to cheer you up and you are well on your way to recovery.

[Vikingod]

Glad you are OK. I hope those bastards get what is coming to them.

[Veridian3]

Yikes, scary stuff. Glad you ended up ok though.

[me.myself.&.ATi]

looks like you were starring in your own action movie...

i hope you heal well & fast enough

[swimtech]

Whoa! So glad you're OK Dyre.

[Dyre Straits]

As unbelievable as it may sound, someone tried to do the exact same thing this past Saturday night as what was done to me the previous Saturday. AND, it was my assignment again. This order came in at about the same time, for the same apartment complex, to be delivered to a terrace level apartment...BUT for a different building.

Because of the previous Saturday's situation, though, the delivery wasn't attempted to be done at the door. I had the manager in charge to call and inform the party that they needed to meet me in front of their apartment in the parking lot. But, when I got there, no one showed up. I went back out the gate, made a U-Turn, punched the gate code and no one answered.

I returned to the store with the pizza and asked the manager if anyone had answered the phone when he called. He said there was no answer.

We were at the store for another hour and a half cleaning and closing up. No one ever called to find out what happened to their order.

This information has been passed along to the police.