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Abner Morillo of Paterson and a female companion entered Gaby’s Pizza & Grill on Midland Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.
The two got into some kind of dispute, after which the woman left and Morillo called a cab, Kugler said.
Morillo, 31, "paid for his food but informed the employee that he had a gun," the chief said.
"He then told the employee if his taxi did not come in the next 10 to 15 minutes he would start breaking stuff and shoot up the store," Kugler said.
He also told the employee that he was a member of the Trinitarios street gang and that "bad things were going to happen to the business," he said.
Fair Lawn Police Officer Geovanny Buitron, who was the first responder on scene, found Morillo carrying a .22-caliber Phoenix Arms handgun loaded with a round in the chamber and two in the magazine, Kugler said.
He also had several marijuana buds in his pants pocket, the chief said.
Morillo spent two years in state prison after being convicted of gun possession in Passaic County in 2017.
remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail, charged with making terroristic threats, pot possession and a variety of weapons offenses, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
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