Man Found Guilty of Robbing Elderly Pizza Delivery Man at Gunpoint
May 5, 2023
Columbia – On April 26, 2023, Keyon Prophet (29) was convicted of the Armed Robbery of a 75 year old pizza delivery man after a Richland County jury returned a guilty verdict following a two day trial.
The Richland County Solicitor’s Office, represented by First Assistant Solicitor Dale Scott and Assistant Solicitor Keith Taylor, presented evidence that Defendant Keyon Prophet, on January 19, 2019, placed an order for pizza from Pizza Hut on Bush River Road. His order indicated that the pizza was to be delivered to an address at the Grove Apartments in Columbia. When the deliveryman arrived, the tenant indicated he had not ordered a pizza. As the deliveryman turned to walk away, he was ambushed by Keyon Prophet and a co-Defendant. Testimony presented at trial indicated that Keyon Prophet held him at gunpoint and demanded money. Prophet then pistol-whipped the victim, took the pizza, grabbed the victim’s cell phone, and ran away. The victim deliveryman, a Marine and Vietnam War veteran, told jurors that his “instinct kicked in” and he chased the assailants on foot; he watched Prophet and his co-defendant enter another apartment building in the Grove Apartment complex. A bystander called 911 and Richland County deputies responded. After a long standoff, Prophet and three other individuals were detained. Inside the apartment, deputies found the victim’s cell phone, a chrome and black BB gun pistol that was used in the robbery, the Pizza Hut delivery bag, the Pizza Hut pizza box, and the uneaten pizza. The Honorable Jocelyn Newman sentenced Keyon Prophet to 15 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.