St. Petersburg Man on Supervised Release Charged With Robbing Two Pinellas Banks in 'Old Man' Mask

A 40-year-old St. Petersburg man who was on federal supervised release after serving prison time for a string of Texas bank robberies has been charged with robbing two more banks, this time in Pinellas County, while wearing a prosthetic "old man" mask, federal prosecutors said. David Sartin Jr. is charged by criminal complaint in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida with two counts of bank robbery, tied to a Largo robbery on Aug. 24 and a St. Petersburg robbery on Sept. 15.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. A complaint is a formal accusation, not a finding of guilt, and Sartin is presumed innocent unless the government proves the charges in court.

What prosecutors allege happened

According to the Justice Department and court documents described by WFLA, WTSP and WFTV, the robber in both cases entered the bank wearing a prosthetic mask of an older man with gray facial hair, along with a hat, glasses and gloves. He approached a teller, demanded money and warned the teller not to include dye packs, the explosive ink devices banks slip into cash to mark stolen money.

Prosecutors said the two robberies were about three weeks apart. The dates and details below come from the government's account as reported by local stations.

The names of the two banks were not included in the reports on the charges.

A bicycle, a staged car and a repainted roof

Investigators said surveillance video helped tie Sartin to the robberies. Before the Largo robbery, according to the government's account, his vehicle and a bicycle were captured near the bank. Prosecutors said he drove through the area, then switched to the bicycle to approach the bank. After the robbery, he allegedly fled on the bicycle to the car, which had been parked at a nearby gas station, and drove away, WTSP reported.

On the day of the St. Petersburg robbery, surveillance footage showed the same vehicle leaving Sartin's home before the robbery and returning shortly after, according to prosecutors. Video also showed a man resembling Sartin unloading a bicycle from the car and bringing it into the house. The next day, investigators watched Sartin spray-paint the vehicle's white roof black, WFTV reported.

What agents say they found

Searches of Sartin's home turned up a bicycle, clothing including suits, and a bag similar to those seen in the robberies, according to the reports. A search of a storage unit produced the items prosecutors consider the heart of the disguise: an "old man" mask with gray facial hair, dark-framed glasses, work gloves marked with black paint, a hat and a fake handgun.

At a second residence where Sartin sometimes stayed, agents said they found another mask and a journal. According to the government, the journal was titled in part "God's Best friend is a Bank Robber!" and listed Sartin as its author. WFLA reported that the full title also referred to "Uncle Henry Cops and Robbers the world through the eyes of a Bank Robber."

A history of masked bank robberies

The new case echoes Sartin's past. The Justice Department said he was on supervised release for a federal conviction involving five bank robberies in Texas in 2016, in which authorities say he used a similar mask and the same vehicle. San Antonio station KSAT reported in 2018 that a federal judge sentenced him to 121 months in prison for his role in five bank robberies and one attempted bank robbery committed in the San Antonio area during the summer of 2016. Coverage of that case at the time described the robber wearing a silicone "old man" mask.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, the Texas robberies included a Comerica Bank in Helotes and an Amegy Bank of Texas branch in San Antonio, and FBI agents arrested Sartin as he arrived home after the Amegy robbery on Aug. 8, 2016. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ordered him to pay $26,204 in restitution and to serve five years of supervised release after his prison term. His roommate and co-defendant was sentenced separately to 78 months for helping carry out the robberies, the office said.

That was not his first federal case. According to the Justice Department, Sartin was also convicted in 2008 after he and a co-conspirator tried to rob a bank while wearing Halloween masks and disguises.

Supervised release is the period of federal oversight that follows a prison term. A new arrest while on supervised release can lead the original sentencing court to revoke that release and order more prison time, separate from any sentence in a new case. No revocation proceeding has been reported so far.

Who investigated

The FBI investigated the case with the Largo Police Department and the St. Petersburg Police Department, according to WFTV's account of the Justice Department announcement. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida, which covers Tampa Bay and handles federal cases from Pinellas County in the federal courthouse in Tampa.

Bank robbery is a federal crime when the target institution is federally insured, which is why the FBI routinely investigates bank holdups in Florida alongside local police. Federal sentencing in such cases weighs a defendant's criminal history heavily, and repeat bank robbery convictions can significantly raise the guideline range a judge considers.

What's next

WFLA reported that jail records show Sartin was arrested on Sept. 21 and was being held in the Pinellas County Jail. With the case filed by complaint, federal prosecutors would ordinarily seek an indictment from a grand jury, after which Sartin would be arraigned and enter a plea in federal court in Tampa.

No defense attorney for Sartin was named in the initial reports, and he has not publicly responded to the allegations.