Police on Tuesday identified two robbery suspects killed during a Pizza Hut holdup.

The men were identified as Dauntrae Wallace and Gregory James Hardy, both 21. A third suspect escaped and may have been wounded.

The men were shot and killed by a 57-year-old Pizza Hut deliveryman while trying to rob a Pizza Hut store at Independence Boulevard and Idlewild Road shortly after 11 p.m. Monday.

In an interview with the Charlotte Observer, the deliveryman said he fired a Glock .22 he had hidden under his shirt after one of the robbers repeatedly beat and pistol-whipped him, opening a nearly two-inch gash next to his left eye.

The deliveryman asked that his name not be used out of fear for his and his family's safety. He previously had worked as a jail detention officer and a sheriff's deputy for about six years, until 2004. He has a license to carry a concealed weapon.

"Every time I hesitated, he hit me. I have so many bumps," the man was quoted as saying.

No charges have been filed against the deliveryman.

Both of the dead men have criminal pasts, court records show.

Wallace was convicted of breaking and entering and larceny in 2006. He was fined and given three years probation. In May, he was convicted of carrying a concealed gun and given another year of probation.

Court records show Hardy was convicted of car theft in 2006 and given three years probation. He was sent to prison for six months in 2007 when he violated his probation by trespassing.

Last year, he was arrested and charged with possessing and conspiring to sell marijuana and was scheduled to be tried in November.

The Pizza Hut shooting marked the second robbery attempt at a Charlotte fast-food restaurant in less than 24 hours.

Earlier on Monday, police charged three men with trying to rob a Wendy’s restaurant near the Metropolitan shopping area near uptown. Two of the robbers were caught by police after a brief car chase; a third turned himself in.

Police continue to seek the third suspect in the Pizza Hut case. He was described only as a black man.

Anyone with information is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a homicide detective, or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
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Our online news partner, the Charlotte Observer, contributed to this report.

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