Officers from the Dalton Police Department arrested three youths after a pizza delivery driver was robbed at knifepoint late Tuesday night on Commerce Drive. Joshua Garcia, 18, of 500 Commerce Dr. and Jonathon Paul Gilreath, 19, of 515 Parkside Place were arrested and charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault. A 14-year-old was also arrested in the case.
The incident happened shortly after 11 p.m. when an order was placed for a pizza to be delivered to an apartment at 500 Commerce Dr. When the victim arrived to deliver the pizza, he was met in the parking lot by the three suspects. One of the men, later identified as Garcia, told the driver that he had forgotten his wallet inside his apartment. The suspect went and knocked on an apartment door, and then came back saying that he had locked his keys inside. The victim told investigators that after waiting a few minutes he became uncomfortable and decided to leave. When he turned around to get the pizzas off of the roof of his car to leave, he said that one of the suspects, later identified as Gilreath, grabbed him from behind and told him that he had a knife. The victim told police he struggled briefly but then stopped when he felt the point of a blade at his throat. The victim told police that Garcia then stole $70 in cash tips that he had in a pocket and the three suspects fled on foot heading east on Underwood Street.
When DPD officers got the call, they immediately began to search the area for the suspects as another officer interviewed the victim. Officers began to search the Park Place apartments at 515 Underwood St. near the incident location. A DPD investigator received information regarding in which apartment the suspects were hiding, and officers made contact with the suspects. After the victim identified them as the trio involved in the robbery, officers found a knife matching the description of the knife used in the robbery and also a pizza warming bag with the pizzas inside. At that point, the three suspects were placed under arrest.