Hinsdale man charged in 2nd robbery in one week

A 24-year-old man has been charged with attempting to rob a Hinsdale convenience store on Monday, just one week after he was in DuPage County court on charges of robbing a gas station in the same town.

Milan Crnovich, of the 5000 block of South Garfield Avenue in Hinsdale, now is being held on $750,000 bond.

Authorities say Crnovich entered the Hinsdale Food Mart wearing a blue ski mask and gave the teller a note demanding money in denominations of $5, $10 and $20.

The attempted robbery apparently went awry when the clerk began yelling and Crnovich ran away empty-handed.

The clerk called police who said they found Crnovich within 70 yards of the store and took him into custody without incident. They said they recovered a ski mask and note about 20 feet away from the suspect.

Crnovich is charged with one count of armed robbery and is scheduled to appear Dec. 27 before Judge John Kinsella.

Crnovich had posted $20,000 bond and was released from custody on Dec. 6 after he was charged with one count of aggravated robbery at a Mobil station.

In that case, authorities said, he wore a white ski mask, handed the clerk a note with the word "gun" and displayed a silver weapon that turned out to be an airsoft pistol. He took $180 from the clerk and fled.

The next day the clerk called police to say Crnovich had returned and officers found him about a block away.

"Exactly one week ago, this very same defendant found himself in bond court facing armed robbery charges in a case that is strikingly similar to the allegations presented against him today," DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "What I find particularly disturbing in this case is the fact that Mr. Crnovich was out on bond when he allegedly attempted to rob the Hinsdale Food Mart."