A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after allegedly shooting an Instacart driver who was making a grocery delivery ordered by the homeowner's wife.
Nicholas Sabo, 43, was taken into custody for allegedly wounding Jerrie Wilchombe, 35, while delivering groceries to their Newton Township home on Jan. 18.
According to South Abington Police Chief Paul Wolfe, Sabo's wife, Vanessa had placed a grocery order through the Instacart app but did not tell her husband.
However, when Wilchombe arrived at their property hours later, Vanessa reportedly told her husband that she had received a motion alert from a security camera near the garage and thought someone was trying to break into a trailer.
The suspect then went outside and allegedly shot the driver in both legs with just one bullet.
“(The husband) goes outside, sees the individual and, no verbal confrontation, nothing, just shoots,” Wolfe told McClatchy News.
Wilchombe then ran back to his car, where wife Jessica Thomas and their daughter Olivia Thomas waited for him, drove a short distance and then called 911.
He was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center where he underwent surgery and is now in stable condition.
Nicholas Sabo, 43, was taken into custody for allegedly leaving Jerrie Wilchombe, 35, injured in the legs while delivering groceries to their Newton Township home on Jan. 18.
According to the Times Tribune, officers at the scene found Vanessa in a “panic-like state” when she invited them inside.
When asked where the firearm was, Nicholas reportedly pointed to a Glock 19 next to his coffee pot, which was then seized by police.
According to the Independent, the family delivered an order from Weis Markets and gave the officers their Instacart paperwork.
Investigators later said that the driver was indeed at the correct address and that Vanessa had placed the order.
Nicholas has since been charged with recklessly endangering another person and additional charges may be filed at a later date.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29 as the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
This isn't the first time an Instacart driver has gotten into a fight during a delivery.
Nearly a year ago, actress Angie Harmon shockingly revealed that one of her family's dogs was shot and killed by an Instacart delivery person.
The 51-year-old former Law & Order star revealed in an Instagram post that her dog Oliver was killed by the customer after they delivered groceries to her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, in April 2024.
When Wilchombe arrived at their property, Vanessa reportedly told her husband that she had received an alert from a home security camera showing movement near the garage and that she believed someone was trying to break into a trailer.
The suspect then went outside and allegedly shot the driver with one bullet in both legs. Wilchombe then ran back to his car, where wife Jessica Thomas and their daughter, Olivia Thomas, waited for him, drove a short distance away and then called 911.
“This Easter weekend, a man delivering groceries for Instacart shot and killed our precious Oliver,” she wrote, alongside some sweet photos of the deceased pet. “He got out of his car, delivered the food and then shot our dog.”
She placed an order through Instacart and communicated with a female hopper named “Merl” at the time of delivery.
However, the driver who showed up was a man.
'I don't think it really hit us until later. Then we called Instacart,” she added.
“They were like, 'Oh God, that's terrible. We'll see what we can do. We'll get back to you.' I thought, no, you don't understand.
'This guy claimed it was – it seemed like we were talking to a slightly older, middle-aged woman named Merl who was talking to me and talking to me about my order. That's not the one who showed up at my house.”
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Instacart addressed Angie's claims, revealing that the delivery driver in question has been suspended from his role.
