Police seek ‘brazen’ robber after Pizza Hut hit in Davie
DAVIE — A man who may have concealed his identity behind a mask drew a Pizza Hut employee to a rear entrance of the store at The Plaza at Davie shopping center Monday and robbed the worker at gunpoint, Davie police said.
“Between 9:30 and 10 o’clock this morning, an unknown man entered the Pizza Hut,” Capt. Dale Engle said. “He brandished a firearm, demanded money from the individual working at the [store] and fled the scene with an unknown amount of money.”
The store, at 11316 State Road 84, is south of Interstate 595. Television news reports showed a man with duct tape attached to his wrist, talking with detectives outside the Pizza Hut.
Police would not comment on whether it was the worker or if he had been bound with tape.
The store was not open to the public when it was robbed, Engle said.
“I believe the worker heard something at the back door and answered the back door,” Engle said.
No one was injured. Investigators did not release a description of the gunman but said surveillance video may become available.
Mauricio Davila, operations manager for Pizza Hut’s franchisees in South Florida, said, “We don’t want to compromise the police investigation. So at this moment I cannot discuss it.”
Next door to Pizza Hut, Sandra Mittoo works at One Price Cleaners and said she usually opens the shop’s back door in the morning to let in fresh air.
But Monday’s chilly temperatures meant the door stayed shut, a decision that she felt kept her safe.
“It definitely did,” Mittoo said. “Because it was cold this morning, I didn’t open it.”
She usually opens for business at 7:30 a.m., earlier than most of the neighboring stores.
“I am scared now,” Mittoo said. “You never know what will happen. You don’t feel safe and secure anymore.”
Some merchants in The Plaza at Davie said Monday that cars had recently been broken into.
Alex’s Bicycle Pro Shop, which sells bikes for high performance athletes that can cost $5,000 or more, was burglarized three times in the past three months, owner Alexander Lai said.
Repairing damage from the burglars — who once cut a hole through the roof that was followed by flooding —and the stolen merchandise has been costly for his business. Before bars were installed to reinforce his storefront, he said “eye candy,” or expensive bikes on display, were taken in a smash and grab burglary.
Engle said while the burglaries were unfortunate, there was a difference between those incidents and what happened at the Pizza Hut.
“We’ve had property crimes out there, with people breaking into businesses or cars,” Engle said. “This was a crime against a person. This was a brazen robbery, where the individual brandished a weapon. He is a violent person who needs to be taken off the street.”
Police ask anyone with information to call 954-693-8200 or Broward County Crime Stoppers, at 954-493-8477. Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips and will pay up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
ltrischitta@tribpub.com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta