Shortly after a pizza delivery driver thwarted a robbery Monday night by pulling out a knife, three teenagers were arrested at a nearby motel.
Cash D. Ballew, 18, whose listed address is the Shar Inn Motel, 3615 W. Harman Highway, Somalia M. Wright, 17, of 2817 W. Wiswall St. and a 16-year-old Peoria boy were arrested in a room at the Shar Inn. All three were booked on charges of armed robbery and mob action.
About 10:10 p.m., Peoria County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the corner of Harman Highway and Barnewolt Drive in Bellevue. A 42-year-old delivery driver for Pizza Hut, 424 N. Western Ave., said two males and a female had attempted to rob him.
The driver said the suspects had run down the hill and gone into the Shar Inn. While investigating, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department found the suspects in a room with two other people, as well as the knife that was believed to have been used in the holdup, according to police reports.
The Pizza Hut employee had cuts on his cheek, lip and hands and reported pain in his arm and side, the reports said. He said he was called on a delivery to the small side street off Harman Highway and was greeted at the address by the three suspects standing outside.
When he got out of his car, the two males began kicking and punching him, the driver said. Upon hitting back to defend himself, one suspect pulled out a knife and began swinging it at the driver, according to reports.
The deliveryman pulled out his own knife and began swinging back, he told police. The three suspects ran and he followed, watching them go inside the motel.
The victim identified all three suspects and said Ballew was the one who pulled the knife, the report said.
Initially, the driver said no cash or pizzas were stolen during the confrontation. Later, he contacted the sheriff’s department to say his coat pocket was ripped and money from other deliveries was missing. He was unsure if the suspects took it or if it fell out because his coat ripped.
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