Pizza Hut Fires Driver For Carrying Gun; Driver Said He Killed Armed Robber
(INDIANAPOLIS, May 18th, 2004, 3:30 p.m.)

A pizza delivery driver who fatally shot a man he said brandished a gun and tried to rob him was fired from his job and could face criminal charges.

Ronald B. Honeycutt shot Jerome Brown, 20, who was pronounced dead a short time after the late Monday shooting.

"I'm just satisfied it was him and not me," said Honeycutt, 38, of Carmel.

Honeycutt said he was returning to his van after making a delivery at an apartment on the city's far east side when he heard someone say "Hey, my guy" and turned to see a man approaching with a gun.

He said he pulled out his 9 mm pistol and fired all 15 rounds at close range.

Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Phil Burton said no witnesses had been found to the fatal shooting of Brown, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Burton said investigators would present their findings to county prosecutors, who will decide whether any charges will be filed in the case.

After shooting Brown, Honeycutt said he picked up Brown's gun because he feared he had an accomplice, and returned to a Pizza Hut store, where detectives later met him.

He said Pizza Hut fired him for violating a company policy against carrying a gun, which he was licensed to carry.

A Pizza Hut spokeswoman, Patty Sullivan, confirmed that company policy includes a ban on carrying weapons.

Honeycutt said he had been delivering pizza for 20 years and always carried a gun.

"It's a fair job, but I don't plan on dying for it," he said.