Sumter pizza delivery woman allegedly sexually assaulted during armed robbery by 19-year-old
Suspect in custody was on bond for alleged 2017 sexual assault of boy under 7
A 19-year-old man is being held at Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center for the alleged robbery and sexual assault of a female pizza delivery driver Monday evening, according to City of Sumter law enforcement officials.
The suspect faces a total of 12 charges, as of Wednesday, for a string of pizza delivery robberies reported in the city, beginning in late September.
Lander Lee Hickman, 19, of Miller Road, faces charges including first-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly attacking the woman when she made a pizza delivery to a residence on Crescent Avenue some time before 11:30 p.m. that evening, states a Sumter Police Department news release.
Officers located Hickman inside a house on Crescent Avenue after receiving a call about the alleged attack and took him into custody.
He is also charged with kidnapping, financial transaction card fraud, pointing and presenting a firearm, four counts of armed robbery and four counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Some of those charges stem from previous alleged crimes also involving the robbery of pizza delivery drivers.
In four of those reported incidents, states the release, the suspect is accused of orchestrating the robberies by placing pizza orders to different addresses and waiting nearby for the driver’s arrival.
Hickman is accused of robbing a delivery man of a pizza, cash and other items at gunpoint about 10 p.m. on Sunday at a location on Charlotte Avenue, on the same side of town as Monday's reported assault.
Two other similar incidents were reported on Sept. 26 in the 300 block of North Magnolia Street and on Sept. 28 in the 20 block of Crescent Avenue.
Police were able to link Hickman to another incident that occurred on Sept. 27 on Chestnut Street where a woman was approached at gunpoint by a man who ordered her to be quiet and threatened her while she was sitting outside. The woman managed to get away, states the release.
At the time of his arrest on Monday, Hickman was out on bond related to an alleged 2017 sexual assault of a boy under the age of 7.
Hickman was initially denied bond; however, he was later given a $30,000 surety bond with GPS monitoring during a requested bond reduction hearing in August of last year.
An investigation into Monday's incident is ongoing.