There is no ‘good humor’ for this ice cream truck driver

By Charles Sercombe

Remember the childhood chant: “You scream, I scream, We all scream for ice cream”?

Well, an ice cream truck driver got a not-so-innocent modern day version of that call.

You can definitely file this one under weird crime news. Two women and a man are being charged with armed robbery of an ice cream truck driver, but it wasn’t about money.

On May 29 at 2:30 p.m., a 19-year-old male ice cream truck driver was driving down Danforth St. when two females, April Franklin, 20, and Reona Light, 17, flagged him to stop. As the driver began to stop, the pair, armed with water guns, allegedly squirted him in the eyes. That made the man, who police declined to identify, lightly bump into a parked car.

On a nearby porch, Roderick McDonald, 24, of Detroit, began yelling at the driver, said Detective Ben Bielecki. McDonald demanded money for the damage caused to the car.

At this point a crowd formed around the truck, and Bielecki said the driver handed over some money. Moments later, Bielecki said, a man with what appeared to be a rifle pointed the gun at the driver, and McDonald grabbed the keys to the truck.

The two women then climbed on board, Bielecki said, and took all the ice cream. The driver got his keys back and drove away. He called police about a block away. When police officers arrived he went with them back to the scene.

The driver was able to point out the three suspects. The man with the gun has not been identified.

About $400 worth of ice cream was stolen. The suspects are free on bond.