New Kensington gas station clerk tells cops man robbed store after threatening to kill her

A man in a relationship with a gas station clerk threatened to kill her before robbing the store while she was working there, according to New Kensington police.

Police filed robbery, retail theft and receiving stolen property charges Thursday against Thomas Deandrea Johnson, 30, of Tarentum. A warrant was out for his arrest Friday, according to New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.’s office.

Police said officers responded around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 4 to the robbery of the BP/7-Eleven convenience store at Tarentum Bridge and Leechburg roads.

According to a criminal complaint, the clerk told officers that a Black man wearing all black with a blue bandana on his face and wearing gloves placed five $500 gift cards on the counter and told her to “load them up.”

The man had a hand in a pocket and made it look like he had a gun, the complaint states.

The clerk had loaded one of the gift cards when a customer walked into the store, causing the man to panic, take the one card and flee.

On Thursday, police said the clerk told officers she was in a relationship with a man she knows only as Thomas. Police identified him from a photograph as Johnson.

According to the complaint, the clerk told police that one or two days before the robbery, Johnson said to her, “What would you do if I robbed your store? You wouldn’t do (expletive) because I would kill you.”

The clerk said she was afraid of Johnson, and that Johnson was the one who robbed the store, the complaint states. She said she knew the robber was him because of his eyes.

The store manager told police on Monday that she got a call from a man she believed to be Thomas Harrison, who she knew to be involved with the clerk working the night of the robbery. The number came back to Johnson, police said in the complaint.

The manager identified Johnson from a photo lineup Tuesday, the complaint says.

According to the complaint, the man told the manager he had bought a gift card at the store between 1 and 2 a.m. Aug. 4, but it did not have $500 on it when he tried to use it. The manager told police that she canceled the gift card upon learning of the robbery.

The manager told police the last time the man called about the gift card, he said, “If you can’t get it, don’t worry about it,” the complaint states.

Police said in the complaint that video from the store shows a man fitting Johnson’s description.