Would-Be Robbers Find Pizza Order Was Real Bad Call

Gunmen who tried to rob a Domino’s driver Thursday in Fullerton were foiled when the pizza man turned out to be a pepperoni-toting cop in disguise.

A suspected gang member was wounded in the shootout that followed, and two others fled and holed up for hours in a nearby house, authorities said. Nearly a dozen people were detained for questioning.

The incident began shortly after midnight when a Domino’s store got a fishy-sounding order for two pizzas to be delivered to the same neighborhood where a driver had been robbed a week earlier. The caller was evasive about his telephone number, and the one he eventually gave matched the number given on the night of the robbery, police said.

Domino’s employees called police, and two Fullerton officers raced to suit up as Domino’s drivers in time to deliver the two large pizzas--a pepperoni and a combination--within the promised 30 minutes.

As one officer waited in the Domino’s delivery car with a radio, the other stepped out with the pizzas and was greeted on the curb in the 200 block of West Valencia Drive by two men. Instead of handing over cash for their order, they pulled out guns.

When the officer announced his real identity, one of the gunmen fired, triggering a shootout that left his accomplice, an 18-year-old, wounded in the abdomen and leg, said Sgt. Glenn Deveney. Neither of the officers was injured.

Backup officers arrived, exchanging shots with two more suspected gang members, said Sgt. Dan Becerra. The two suspects ran to a house nearby and hid. Police rounded up seven people from the house and called the SWAT team when four others refused to come out. Those four gave themselves up about six hours later. The man who fired at the undercover officer was still at large Thursday afternoon, Becerra said.

The wounded suspect, Sergio Gonzales of Fullerton, described by police as a member of a local street gang, was listed in stable condition Thursday at UCI Medical Center in Orange. Deveney said Gonzales will be booked on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and attempted robbery.

Two reputed members of the same gang--Gilbert Olvera, 20, of Fullerton, and a 16-year-old Fullerton youth who was not identified--were arrested on the same charges, police said.

Domino’s officials praised Fullerton police for taking the concerns seriously and acting with the speed of a fast-food restaurant--changing into Domino’s uniforms even as the pizzas cooked.

“The police really came through,” said Tim McIntyre, a spokesman at Domino’s corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich. “This is a case where the good guys won.”

Employees at the store on Raymond Avenue thought something was amiss when the caller seemed evasive, giving a telephone number that didn’t match the address given, McIntyre said. When the caller offered a second number that did not match the address, the Domino’s worker refused the order, McIntyre said.

The man called back--this time with a number and address that matched. The staffer took the order but recognized the voice and feared a robbery attempt might be underway.

“It didn’t feel right,” said McIntyre.

Domino’s workers reported their doubts to police. The two officers hurried to the store. As they changed into Domino’s uniforms, the man called again, wondering why the pizzas were not delivered yet, McIntyre said. The caller was told that deliveries were a little backed up and that the pizzas would arrive soon.

They did, along with the police.

McIntyre said Domino’s drivers never carry more than $20, making them less than lucrative targets.

“Sometimes you get potential robbers who are not very bright,” McIntyre said. “It generally isn’t worth robbing a Domino’s delivery person.”