Robber chooses pizza with pepperoni, olives and lead
A would-be robber picked the wrong target in Albuquerque, NM, when it turned out that the pizza delivery driver he tried to rob had a gun, and this was already after the suspect allegedly held up the Domino’s pizza place where the driver worked.
According to the newspaper, the suspect, later identified as Gerardo Alvarado, went to the hospital with a gunshot wound, in critical condition. He allegedly held up the Domino’s at gunpoint and then spotted the driver outside as he left the establishment.
When he tried to hold up the driver, instead of getting cash, he stopped a bullet. Police found the 52-year-old Alvarado lying in the parking lot. No charges against the driver were anticipated.
It was the second time in a week that a Domino’s delivery worker shot a bad guy. In the earlier confrontation, in Hollywood, CA, a pair of would-be robbers tried to hold up Slayde Henry as he returned from a couple of deliveries.
Henry drew his pistol and opened fire, killing one of the suspects while the other one got away.
Uber driver shoots man trying to choke him
An Uber driver in Tampa, FL., apparently didn’t get the memo from Uber central about there being no guns allowed for drivers or passengers, and he’s probably still alive because of that.
According to the Tampa Tribune, 74-year-old Steven Rayow had stopped his car late in the evening in Clearwater Beach when he became embroiled in an argument with passenger Marc Gregory Mermel, 60. Things got physical and Mermel began choking the older driver.
That’s when Rayow reportedly drew his licensed handgun from his waistband and shot Mermel in the foot, the newspaper explained.
Washington auto repair allows armed employees
Following an increasing problem with aggressive panhandlers, theft and trash left around an auto repair shop in Everett, WA., employees of that business have started getting permits to carry concealed handguns, KING 5 News, the NBC affiliate in Seattle, reported recently.
Z Sport owner Gary Watts told the station that he’s seen crack smokers, panhandlers approaching his customers and driving business away, and homeless campers who leave trash, including used needles, around his establishment and across the street.
One auto technician, Mike Larsson, said tools have been stolen by grab-and-run thieves.
Service manager Ryan Hobart carries a Colt .45 semi-auto pistol.
What the business really wants is legal action from city hall, but Deputy City Attorney David Hall told KING that “they can’t arrest their way out of the situation.” He said making a homeless camp disappear is a lot more complicated problem.”
San Franciso news crews robbed of video equipment
Two San Francisco broadcast news crews were recently covering a homicide at Pier 14 when, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, they were robbed of equipment, and one camera operator was pistol whipped.
Proof positive that you can’t make this stuff up, the report said KTVU reporter Cara Liu was doing a live shot when a thief actually ran up and stole camera gear belonging to KNTV nearby. Cameraman Alan Waples was hit with a handgun during the incident, after the thug pointed the gun at his head while Liu was preparing to go on the air.
Liu and an KTVU photographer went to assist their media colleagues. KTVU reporter Kris Sanchez yelled at the gunman, urging him not to shoot.
The robber stole a KNTV tripod and camera, and the same gear from the KTVU team.
Nearby, news crews from KGO and KRON were also present, but they were not robbed. The man fled in a black BMW.
NY Times admits nothing, but Cruz book makes list
Accusations of liberal bias by the New York Times often end up being swept under the media rug, but seldom confirmed.
That’s the case, sort of, concerning Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Five days after accusing The Times of bias, secrecy and foul play, Cruz is finally getting what he wanted: a highly coveted spot on the newspaper’s best-seller list, but no confirmation of bias.
Cruz’s memoir, “A Time For Truth,” will appear at No. 7 on the Times’ list for hardcover nonfiction, reflecting its second-week sales, a Times spokesperson confirmed to Politico.com media commentator Dylan Byers on July 15. The Texas senator’s book had not been included on the list for its first week, on the grounds that its sales had been driven by “strategic bulk purchases,.” The Times said.
Now, Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy said the newspaper made no changes to its selection process, and so the fact that Cruz’s book is being included now suggests a rise in individual purchases, spurred by his public battle with the paper.
Both HarperCollins, the book’s publisher, and Amazon, the largest Internet retailer in the country, had said that they had found “no evidence” that bulk purchases drove the book’s sales numbers. On July 10, Cruz campaign spokesperson Rick Tyler accused the Times of “obvious partisan bias,” and called on the paper to reveal its methodology or else publicly apologize.
The Times has resolutely stood by its claim, and has refused to reveal its methodology on the grounds that doing so might threaten the integrity of the process.
But a week later, Cruz’s book, “A Time for Truth,” was expected to be listed on the Times’ “best seller” list.
