On a cold February evening in Philadelphia, 30-year-old Bobby Jenkins was earning a living, delivering pizzas for Stacy's Pizza, a job he had only held for a few weeks. On February 26, 2019, what began as a routine delivery turned into a fatal ambush. Jenkins was lured to a property under construction on the 7600 block of Woodcrest Avenue in the Overbrook Park neighborhood, an address that would be the last he would ever travel to.
The order had been a setup.
An individual had broken into the vacant home to place the call, intending to rob the unsuspecting delivery driver. Around 7:12 p.m., as Jenkins arrived, he was met by an armed man. The assailant shot Jenkins once in the chest. A neighbor, hearing the gunshot, discovered Jenkins lying in the street. He was rushed to Lankenau Medical Center, but his life could not be saved, and he was pronounced dead at 7:31 p.m.
The shooter fled the scene and has not been publicly identified. Philadelphia police at the time noted the striking similarities between this tragic incident and another robbery that had occurred just ten days prior. In that case, another delivery driver was also lured to a vacant property in West Philadelphia and robbed, though that individual was not physically harmed. Investigators believed the same person was likely responsible for both crimes, seeing a disturbing pattern emerge.
In the wake of his death, friends and family remembered Bobby Jenkins as a kind and gentle soul. His brother, Caliel Blocker, tearfully spoke at a vigil, expressing the deep hurt and injustice of his brother's murder. Jenkins was described as a loving husband with aspirations of one day starting his own business. As of now, the case remains unsolved, with no arrests having been made in connection with the murder of Bobby Jenkins. The Philadelphia Police Department continues to ask for anyone with information to come forward.
