A convicted serial robber has been accused of disguising himself as an old man to hit even more banks in Florida, according to prosecutors.
David Sartin Jr., a 40-year-old from St. Petersburg, was arrested last month after allegedly being connected to two bank robberies in the area, during which a thief wearing a prosthetic old man mask approached the teller counter and demanded money, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a press release.
The first robbery occurred in the afternoon of August 24 at a bank in Largo. Sartin Jr., wearing a straw hat, sports coat, and gloves, walked up to the teller and told them to hand over all the money and “no dye packs,” according to a criminal complaint. Dye packs thwart robbers by staining money and making it easier to track.
The teller gave Sartin Jr. $2,900 while also pressing a silent alarm, the complaint said. The suspect allegedly grabbed the money and stuffed it inside his sports coat before leaving the bank.
According to the bank manager standing next to the teller, Sartin Jr. told the teller to “hurry up” at least two times, and when he got the money, he said, “Until we meet again.” The bank manager said that he was wearing a prosthetic face covering with a thin grey beard.
Investigators determined that Sartin Jr. had parked a car near the bank before the robbery and then switched to a bicycle. After the robbery, Sartin Jr. fled on the bicycle, went to the car and then drove away, according to prosecutors. The car was later seen heading in the direction of Sartin Jr.’s home, prosecutors said.
Weeks later, Sartin Jr. allegedly hit another bank in St. Petersburg. On the afternoon of September 15, Sartin Jr. — wearing a sports coat and gloves again, but this time with a flat cap and glasses — approached someone identified only as “Witness 3,” the complaint said.
Sartin Jr. gave the person a note that said something like, “Cash, no dye,” and they gave him about $2,500, according to the complaint. He then allegedly fled.
The witness said they believed he was wearing an “old man” mask and that he did not move as an old man would.
Surveillance video showed a car leaving Sartin Jr.’s home before the robbery and returning afterwards, according to prosecutors. When the car returned, a man resembling Sartin Jr. was allegedly seen unloading a bicycle and rolling it toward the home.
During a search of a storage unit owned by Sartin Jr., they allegedly found disguise items matching those seen in surveillance video from the robberies, including an old man mask with grey facial hair, glasses, and gloves.
When agents searched another home where Sartin Jr. occasionally stayed, authorities allegedly found a journal titled God’s Best Friend Is a Bank Robber! Uncle Henry Cops and Robbers the world through the eyes of a Bank Robber, which stated it was “written by: David Sartin.”
Sartin Jr. was arrested on September 19 in the driveway of a home about two houses from his home.
At the time of the robberies in Florida, Sartin Jr. was on supervised release for a 2018 federal conviction stemming from five bank robberies in Texas two years prior.
During the robberies in Texas, Sartin Jr. wore a similar mask and used the same vehicle he used during the Florida robberies, according to prosecutors.
In 2008, Sartin Jr. was convicted in federal court of attempted bank robbery after he and a co-conspirator tried to hit a bank wearing Halloween masks and other disguises.
Sartin Jr. has been charged with two counts of bank robbery in connection with the Florida robberies. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
