ATLANTA, GA — A 24-year-old pizza delivery driver was arrested late Monday night after making four separate deliveries to the same address — each with a bag of marijuana tucked beneath the pizza — apparently unaware that the home was an undercover operation run by the Fulton County Sheriff’s narcotics unit.
Javaris Deon Whitley, an employee of a local pizzeria in the East Atlanta Village neighborhood, allegedly used his delivery job as cover for a side business distributing cannabis. Customers would reportedly place a pizza order by phone, request a specific topping combination as a code — “extra mushrooms, light sauce” — and receive their purchase nestled in the box beneath the pizza in a vacuum-sealed bag.
Four Trips. Same House. Same Cops.
The narcotics unit had received a tip about the operation and set up a sting at a rented house on Memorial Drive. An undercover officer placed the coded order at 6:30 p.m. Whitley arrived, delivered the pizza and the product, and left. The officers, somewhat surprised by the speed of the operation, ordered again. Whitley returned. They ordered a third time. He returned again. By the fourth delivery, officers say they were “almost uncomfortable” arresting him.
“By trip three I genuinely felt bad. He remembered our names. He gave us extra marinara. He said ‘Happy 4/20, y’all’ and did a little peace sign. Then he came back a fourth time and we just had to end it.” — Undercover Det. Lamar Givens, Fulton County SO
Whitley was apprehended during the fourth delivery and found to be carrying an additional three bags of cannabis in an insulated Domino’s bag that he did not work for. He was also carrying $740 in cash and a handwritten price list titled “Javaris’s 4/20 Menu” that included a “Munchies Combo” deal: one large pepperoni pizza and an eighth for $55.
Whitley was booked into the Fulton County Jail on four counts of distribution of a controlled substance. His employer has issued a statement confirming Whitley has been terminated, adding, “We want to be clear: our extra mushrooms are just mushrooms.” His booking on JailReport.lol is currently the site’s most-viewed 4/20 arrest. Bond has been set at $8,000.