Pierce County prosecutors have charged two people in connection with the robbery of a pizza delivery driver Sept. 23 in Spanaway.

Gerwick M. Burnett, 28, and Rohvonian K. Cole, 27, were charged Wednesday with first-degree robbery, possession of stolen property, theft of a motor vehicle and obstructing a police officer.

A stolen car led police to evidence that connected the two to the robbery of a pizza delivery driver, court documents say.

Cole allegedly stole the car Sept. 23 after taking it for a test drive from Tacoma Nissan Subraru. The manager called Cole’s cell phone, and she told him he’d get the car back “when he got it back,” court documents state.

On Monday, Lakewood police spotted the car at the Best Knights’ Inn in Lakewood.

Cole was registered at the motel, court documents state. Officers went to her room and arrested her. The Nissan manager identified Cole as the person who had taken the car for a test drive.

While checking the stolen car, officers found a 9mm pistol in the locked glove box. The gun had been reported stolen during the robbery of the pizza delivery driver Sept. 23.

In that case, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies came to the 400 block of 141st Street South and found the delivery driver crying.

A neighbor had found the driver – duct tape over her mouth and her hands bound – hopping into his backyard.

The driver told the deputies she’d arrived with a pizza and was met by a woman who told her to bring the food to the side of the house. When the driver approached, the woman pulled her into a side yard. The driver then saw that the woman had a gun. A man bound the driver’s hands and feet, then put duct tape over her mouth, court documents state.

“Have a nice day,” he said, according to court documents. The man took the pizza and the driver’s wallet before the couple took off in the driver’s car. The driver told deputies her own handgun had been inside the car.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/crime