It was nothing unusual for people at the Chipper Truck Cafe on McLean Avenue in Yonkers to order Grubhub for breakfast sandwiches and burgers at 5 a.m. on a Sunday, but the note was strange under the extra instructions.
It was clearly written in haste, saying to call the police and have them come with food and not explain it.
“She was basically asking the police to bring along the delivery,” said Alice Bermejo of Chipper Truck Cafe.
Alice Bermejo, who owns the business with her husband, says she got a call from an employee who saw orders coming in on the screen.
“He saw the note on the order, and he called my husband, said ‘What should we do,’ and he was like, ‘Call the police, can’t take any risks, better be safe than sorry,’” she said. .
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The order came from an address in the Eastchester section of the Bronx, where officials say a 32-year-old man sexually assaulted a 24-year-old woman by holding her against her will.
They met in person a few months after they first met online, and it turned violent. He would not let her keep her phone except to order food.
At the time, her best hope was to receive the message at a restaurant three and a half miles away. The Bermejo family is grateful to the employee who called the police and explained.
“Just knowing we were there, and being open 24 hours a day, gave her a way to get help,” said Alicia, daughter of Alice Bermejo.
According to court documents, the suspect opened a door, admitting that he thought the girl’s food had arrived. But there was police.
The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Chemoy Royal, was charged with multiple charges including rape, unlawful confinement, strangulation, criminal sex act and sexual assault.
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And now he has also been accused of attempting to sexually assault another young woman a few days back.
That incident happened on June 14 at Royal’s home and was reported the next day. Somehow that 26-year-old victim escaped. It is unclear why police did not arrest Royal for that first incident until June 19.
He was charged in both cases at the same time.
Royal was arrested thanks to a Grubhub order, which Bermejo did not know until he received a call from a friend of the victim.
Alicia Bermejo said, “He called us to say thank you and to stay like, ‘Thank you so much for helping my friend and that’s it, you know to make sure she was okay. “We didn’t really have an idea of the gravity of the situation until everything was done.”
They attribute the quick thinking of the victim to the horrific situation.
Alice Bermejo said, “I can’t even imagine. I hope to meet her someday.”
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