Isle pizza heists Three Makiki men charged in a series of pizza delivery robberies left a trail of clues that could land them in federal prison, according to a court document.
end in federal warrants
FBI says 3 Makiki men left clues
in robbing 4 delivery driversBy Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.comOn four separate occasions, the men ordered takeout pizzas, left their names and call back telephone numbers and in one case used a coupon stolen from one of the delivery men to pay for a pizza, according to a criminal complaint.
"Basically, they were hungry," said Detective Joyce Alapa, Honolulu Police Department Criminal Investigation Division.
Federal arrest warrants were issued for Carmichael Doan, Armond Jackson and Raymond Ridela Tuesday after the U.S. Attorney's Office filed the criminal complaint charging them with violating the Hobbs Act.
The hijacking and robbing of the delivery drivers, employees of three different national pizza company chains, constitutes a disruption of interstate commerce under the law, said Omer Poirier, assistant U.S. attorney.
The men admitted their involvement in three of the robberies and a search of their apartment turned up items taken from the delivery driver in the fourth robbery including his driver's license and personal photographs, according to an FBI affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint.
The men could have been charged with robbery under Hawaii law.
"We're trying to send a message," said Alapa.
Pizza delivery drivers and taxi drivers are especially vulnerable to robbery and hijacking in the regular performance of their jobs, she said.
Charging the three men with a federal offense lets people know that police consider these crimes serious, she added.
According to the complaint, the men are responsible for the March 24 robbery of a Pizza Hut driver, the March 27 robbery of a Papa John's Pizza driver, the April 10 kidnapping and robbery of a Domino's Pizza driver and the April 14 robbery of a Magoo's Pizza driver.
They hung out at the Pensacola Street apartment Doan and Jackson share with Doan's younger brother and came up with the scheme to rob pizza delivery drivers, Alapa said.
In the first three robberies the drivers were sent to the same address a block away from the Pensacola Street apartment.
In the fourth robbery the driver was sent to an address a block away from Ridela's Liholiho Street residence, Alapa said.
In the March 27 robbery, the men ordered two pizzas under Doan's brother's name and left his cellular telephone number, according to the complaint. The brother is named but not charged.
In the April 10 robbery, the men ordered two pizzas under the name "Ray Rogello" and left a phone number that was one digit different than Ridela's, the complaint states.
It also states that in the April 14 robbery, the men ordered three pizzas under Armond's name and left a cellular telephone number one digit off from Doan's.
On April 13, Doan's brother ordered a pizza and had it delivered to the Pensacola Street apartment.
He left his cellular telephone number, the complaint says, and paid for the pizza with a coupon stolen from the driver in the April 10 robbery.
According to the complaint, there was a personal note written on the back of the coupon when it was taken in the robbery.
When Doan presented the coupon, the message was covered with Wite-Out.