Robert Flannery.

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A man from Passaic is accused of using a handheld power tool disguised as a gun to rob a gas station in Clifton, police said.

Officers responded to the Sunoco gas station on Paulison Avenue in Clifton on Saturday, Nov. 29, just after 7 p.m. on a report of an armed robbery, according to Clifton Police Lt. Robert Anderson.

Police said a male suspect wearing a ski mask carried what appeared to be a firearm covered in a bag or cloth. Police said the suspect threatened to shoot the attendant if the attendant did not give the suspect all of the cash. The attendant surrendered all of the operating cash the attendant was carrying, police said.

Detectives from Clifton police and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office CSI determined the suspect fled in a gray Kia Sorento, later identifying a vehicle of interest registered to Robert Flannery, 38, Anderson said.

Additional evidence showed the Kia was in the area at the time of the robbery and the driver matched Flannery’s description.

On Sunday, Nov. 30, the Passaic police located the Kia in their city, and the vehicle was impounded by Clifton police pending a search warrant, Anderson said. As the investigation continued, police said detectives compiled more evidence implicating Flannery. 

Detectives were granted a search warrant, which they executed at Flannery’s Passaic home and vehicle on Wednesday, Dec. 3, with help from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office. Police said evidence recovered from the home and the Kia linked Flannery and his vehicle to the robbery. No firearm was recovered, but police said a handheld power tool was found and is alleged to be the object fashioned to resemble a gun.

Flannery was arrested and charged with robbery, theft, and terroristic threats, Anderson said. He was processed and turned over to the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office corrections hub to await his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing.