Utah actor arrested for robbing a pizza business

Alex Cabrero reporting From a head shot to a mug shot, a bit-part actor in "High School Musical" is arrested for robbing a local pizza business.

The Five Buck Pizza in Holladay was robbed at gunpoint around 9 p.m. last night. Store employees didn't need to watch TV to know who was robbing them. The accused bandit used to work at the store.

Dutch Whitlock, 19, is now in the Salt Lake County Jail charged with aggravated robbery. So far, no bail has been set.

Police say Whitlock and another man walked into the store, showed a gun and demanded money.

Workers who were at the store say even though the two robbers wore bandannas over their faces, they recognized Whitlock because he used to work there.

Once they gave that information to police, it wasn't too hard to track him down. Deputies say Whitlock eventually called them and surrendered.

His former co-workers say they can't believe he would even try something like this. Benjamin Lee, owner of the 5 Buck Pizza in Holladay, said, "Actually completely. I mean, just you know, you look at the guy as it's happening, and you're just like, 'What made you really get to that point?' It's just like, we were friends, I thought. We talked on a friendly level, like everything was like pretty good and all of the sudden something like this happens. Most of the employees, too, they know Dutch as a really good person, and he showed up to work on time. He worked hard and stuff, and then just all of the sudden like what."

You might recognize from ads on TV. He was Svarnik in the "Svarnik and Byll Fight Against Tobacco" ad campaigns.

He also had a small role in High School Musical as "Skater #1." Again, as far as we known now, investigators are still looking for robber No. 2.

E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com

Related topics