A 40-year-old man threatened to kill a worker at a Clifton grocery store Friday after pulling what looked like a handgun from his waistband, according to police, in an incident that ended with officers arresting him just outside the store within two minutes of a 911 call.
Clifton Police Department officers responded to Food Universe on Lexington Avenue around 2:03 p.m. on August 28 after a 911 caller reported a man with a gun inside the store, according to Daily Voice. The outlet reports that Adolfo Barrientos, whose last known address was in Paterson, had been panhandling inside the store and disrupting business when an employee asked him to leave. Barrientos then announced that he had a gun, pulled what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband, and threatened to kill the employee, who moved away from him, the outlet reports.
According to the same account, Barrientos dropped the weapon on the ground before bending down to pick it up again. The employee called police, and officers arrived in under two minutes, finding Barrientos just outside the store and arresting him without incident, Clifton Police Det. Lt. Robert Anderson said. The item Barrientos allegedly brandished was later determined to be a realistic-looking black handgun that fires only plastic pellets, per the report.
A Store Employees Had Flagged Before
A Store Employees Had Flagged Before Store employees reportedly recognized Barrientos from a disturbance in June, when he had caused threats inside the same store. Clifton police officers had escorted him from the store during that incident and warned him he would be charged with trespassing if he returned, the report notes. The report also notes that Barrientos was later charged with trespassing.
Barrientos was charged with terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and defiant trespass, according to the report. Under New Jersey Statute N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3, terroristic threats is typically a third-degree crime carrying a potential sentence of three to five years in state prison and fines up to $15,000, according to the Personal Injury Law Offices. Prosecutors must prove intent to cause terror or imminent fear of violence regardless of whether the weapon is real.
Why an Imitation Gun Still Carries Real Charges
Even though the weapon turned out to be a pellet gun rather than a firearm, New Jersey law treats the unlawful display of a realistic imitation weapon as a serious offense, since victims and responding officers cannot tell the difference during an active threat. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(e), possessing an imitation firearm for an unlawful purpose is a fourth-degree crime punishable by up to 18 months in prison and fines as high as $10,000, according to the Lustberg Law Offices. New Jersey Courts opinions identify possession of an imitation firearm for an unlawful purpose under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(e) as a fourth-degree offense.
The report lists a defiant trespass charge among those filed against Barrientos.
Booking and What Comes Next
Following his arrest, Barrientos was turned over to the Passaic County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division, according to Passaic County Jail information. That arrangement reflects a broader shift in the county's detention system: the original 1957 Passaic County Jail complex closed in 2022, and county officials approved a $150 million redevelopment plan for the former jail site at 11 Marshall Street in Paterson in June, following the facility's 2024 demolition, as reported by the Paterson Times.
Barrientos is now pending his first court appearance. It remains unclear whether prosecutor waivers or bail reform guidelines under New Jersey law will lead to his pretrial detention or release ahead of that hearing.
The Food Universe Marketplace occupies a 16,000-square-foot space at 435 Lexington Avenue that operated as a Rite Aid drugstore until 2023, when it was converted into a Key Food-affiliated supermarket. Independent grocer Teofilo de Jesus acquired the store in 2024 from original operator Kevin Kim, adding it to a regional Passaic County network that also includes SuperFresh locations in Passaic and Woodland Park, according to a report from The Market Report. The Lexington Avenue corridor is home to the store.
