“Unintentional Shooting of Instacart Driver by Homeowner Who Mistook Him for Intruder”

A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after he allegedly shot an Instacart driver who was making a grocery delivery ordered by the homeowner’s wife. 

Nicholas Sabo, 43, was arrested for allegedly injuring Jerrie Wilchombe, 35, while delivering groceries to their residence in Newton Township on January 18.

In line with South Abington Police Chief Paul Wolfe, Sabo’s spouse, Vanessa, had ordered groceries via the Instacart app but failed to inform her husband.

Yet, a few hours later, upon Wilchombe’s arrival at their home, Vanessa informed her husband that she had received a motion alert from a home security camera positioned near the garage, suspecting an attempted break-in at a utility trailer.

The suspect then went outside and allegedly blasted the driver in both legs with just one bullet. 

‘(The husband) goes out, sees the individual and, no verbal confrontation no nothing, just shoots,’ Wolfe told McClatchy News.  

Wilchombe then ran back to his vehicle, where wife Jessica Thomas and their daughter, Olivia Thomas were waiting for him, drove a short distance away and then called 911.   

He was taken to the Geisinger Community Medical Center where he underwent surgery and is now in a stable condition. 

Nicholas Sabo, 43, was taken into custody for reportedly leaving Jerrie Wilchombe, 35, wounded in his legs while he was dropping off groceries to their Newton Township home in on January 18

Responding officials at the scene found Vanessa in a ‘panicked state’ as she invited them inside the house, according to the Times Tribune. 

When questioned where the firearm was, Nicholas reportedly pointed to a Glock 19 beside his coffee pot – which was then confiscated by cops. 

According to the Independent, the family was delivering an order from Weis Markets and gave officers their Instacart paperwork. 

Investigators later said that the driver was indeed at the correct address and Vanessa had placed the order. 

Nicholas has since been charged with recklessly endangering another person and additional charges may be presented at a later date. 

His preliminary hearing is set for January 29 as investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.

It’s not the first time an Instacart driver has had an altercation during a delivery.  

Almost a year ago, actress Angie Harmon has shockingly revealed that one of her family’s dogs was shot and killed by an Instacart delivery driver. 

The 51-year-old former Law & Order star revealed in an Instagram post that her dog Oliver had been killed by the shopper after they dropped off groceries to her home in Charlotte, North Carolina in April 2024. 

When Wilchombe arrived at their property, Vanessa reportedly told her husband that she received an alert from a home security camera of movement near the garage and believed someone was trying to break in to a utility trailer.

The suspect then went outside and allegedly blasted the driver in both legs with one bullet. Wilchombe then ran back to his vehicle, where wife Jessica Thomas and their daughter, Olivia Thomas were waiting for him, drove a short distance away and then called 911

‘This Easter weekend a man delivering groceries for Instacart shot & killed our precious Oliver,’ she wrote, alongside several sweet photos of the deceased pet. ‘He got out of his car, delivered the food & THEN shot our dog.’

She had placed a grocery order through Instacart and was communicating with a female hopper named, ‘Merl’ at the time of the delivery.

However, the driver who showed up was a man. 

‘I think it didn’t really hit us until later. That’s when we called Instacart,’ she added. 

‘They were just like, “oh gosh, that’s terrible. We’ll see what we can do. We’ll get back to you.” I was like, no, you don’t understand. 

‘This man was claiming to be — it looked like we were talking to a middle age slightly older woman named Merl, who was talking to me and talking to me about my order. That’s not who showed up at my house.’

In a statement provided to DailyMail.com, Instacart addressed Angie’s claims – revealing that the delivery driver in question has been suspended from their role.