News

Trio robs pizzeria staff at gunpoint

September 16, 2002

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Frustrated because a time-locked safe wouldn't open, three armed robbers forced five Pizza Hut employees into a freezer and fled on the night of Sept. 15.

According to the St. Joseph News-Press, a 22-year-old female manager was preparing to close the store at 10:40 p.m. CST, when two men and one woman entered carrying guns.

The manager said a man pointed a shotgun at the back of her head and demanded she and four other employees get on the floor. A woman then held a revolver to the manager's head and demanded she open the safe below the counter.

The manager told the robbers it wouldn't open after 9 p.m., but they wouldn't believe her.

"I was thinking we'd all die because the safe wouldn't open," said the manager, who asked not to be identified. "I told them that it wasn't worth it."

The suspects emptied the open cash register and tried to put the staff into a cooler. When they realized it was too full, the manager suggested they put the staff in a larger freezer, knowing its door would not lock.

"We all stayed calm and did what they told us to do and just let them leave," the manager said. "I'm really thankful for the other people that were there."

The other employees waited in the freezer until a delivery driver, who hid during the robbery, told them the robbers were gone.

The manager said she's quitting her job because she feels it's unsafe to work nights.

"I'm still scared today," she said. "If they don't know who did it, how can I feel safe? I just can't do it anymore."

Police have no suspects.