A Superior Court Judge on Wednesday dismissed pending robbery charges against 46-year-old Justino Serrano Jr. of Norwich after a prosecutor notified the court that police had mistakenly identified him as the man who held up the Sam's Food Mart on July 18.

"The Norwich Police believe this is a matter of mistaken identity, so therefore we believe the case should be nolled (not prosecuted)," said prosecutor Stephen M. Carney, who was handling the case for another prosecutor, Lawrence J. Tytla.

Based on the circumstances, Serrano's attorney, M. Fred DeCaprio, asked Judge Hillary B. Strackbein to dismiss the case. She granted the request and ordered that the court return to Serrano about $450 in cash and a cellphone that police had seized.

Serrano initially had been held in lieu of $100,000, but was released on a written promise to appear in court following his arraignment.

According to an arrest warrant, a man with a gun confronted the store clerk as she was preparing to close for the day and demanded cash. He reached into the register and stole the cash and told her not to call the police or he would shoot her in the head.

The officers reviewed video from the store and identified the suspect as Serrano from "prior police contact," according to the affidavit.