Hinsdale man charged in gas station robbery

A 24-year-old Hinsdale man has been charged with robbing a Hinsdale gas station, authorities said Tuesday.

Milan Crnovich, of the 5000 block of South Garfield Avenue, is charged with one count of aggravated robbery and was being held on $200,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 20 in front of Judge John Kinsella.

Authorities say Crnovich, wearing a white ski mask and distinctive jacket, entered the Mobil station at 8 W. Chicago Ave. when the clerk was outside at about 1 a.m. Saturday.

When the clerk returned, Crnovich handed him a note with the word "gun" and displayed a silver gun, authorities said.

Crnovich took $180 from the clerk and then fled on foot, authorities said.

The clerk reported the robbery to police and then called them the next day to say Crnovich had returned. Police responded and found Crnovich about a block away.

Crnovich told officers he was looking for his backpack, and when they offered to help find it, authorities said, they discovered a ski mask and jacket that appeared to be the same as the gunman was wearing on surveillance footage from the gas station. They then patted him down and found a silver pistol in his waistband that turned out to be an airsoft pistol, authorities said. He was taken into custody without incident.

"The allegations in this case - accosting a man at gunpoint who is just trying to make an honest living - are extremely serious and will be met with the full force of the law," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.