SAN DIEGO -- It’s a scary case of criminals using innocent people's homes to lure victims.
On Thanksgiving, a man ordered a pizza at an address that wasn't his, then robbed the delivery person.
An armed robber and two other suspects in a getaway car used an address on Gertrude Street in the Morena neighborhood to order a pizza.
The innocent delivery man, who came from the nearby Dominos, had no idea he'd be held at gunpoint.
The armed robber was wearing a dark hoodie. He got into a dark-colored sedan with two other people in it. There is no word how much they got away with. San Diego police detectives are now investigating.
"That makes me a little concerned, especially that they did it at gunpoint,” said neighbor Richard Drew.
Drew hadn’t heard of the robbery just a few homes down the street.
"It really concerns me, especially when they did it at gunpoint,” he said.
The person living in the home was out of town for Thanksgiving.
“I didn't realize it was just down the street,” said neighbor Sarah Haffey. "From a criminal point of view it's a perfect day, right? If people are home, it’s probably pretty obvious because there are a lot of people there."
Crimes against pizza delivery drivers aren't new and are usually committed by desperate criminals who need quick money. But they're classic crimes of opportunity, which have evolved over the years.
“For example Craigslist, crime of opportunity because they know you're coming with cash if they're trying to sell you something or a product,” said former police officer Kevin Lachapelle. “For pizza delivery, it isn't as common because, to be honest, they don't carry that much money."
LaChapelle says it’s another reason to put up surveillance cameras around your home.
"They alert you on your smartphone so if you see something like that, you could always call the police there's somebody hanging around at my house and it's not us because we're not there,” added LaChapelle.
He reminds us criminals are on the prowl even more during the holidays.
